Eyes of a Devil
by The Official Demonator
Summary: Who am I supposed to call when a police car starts stalking me? The cops? Yea right. Might as well say 'hello' to the insane asylum for that one. Not only that, but what's with the funny bird-lookin' symbol etched in the car's side? Barricade/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Well, here's a new story for ya. :P This was on my mind for quite a while, so I figured I'd get it out while I still remembered to type it.**

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I, Corrie Chambliss, pronounced like the male name 'Corey', formerly known as Corrie Ackley, sighed as I sat upon the bench just a block down from my house, waiting for the bus to arrive so I could finally start my day off at school. School wasn't fun, or anything, but it was something that kept me busy during my lonely life. No, I'm not emo, goth, or anything else that's a synonym for those words, but I am a loner and I have been for some time now. I'm twenty-five and live in the small city of Pittsburgh. Having a class in the city was kind of a pain in the ass to get to, but, hey, I was learning, and that's all that mattered.

If you didn't already guess, I used to be married.. to an asshole. The only reason why I kept the last name was because I liked it, just not the guy it belonged to. I'm not gonna get too in to the past, but let's just put it this way, I hate cheaters.

Want some advice? Never marry a guy who just graduated from high school two years ago and is still in college.. not that I'm a cougar or anything.. okay maybe I am, but I'm not a bad chick. I have a job, I just graduated college (well, about to hopefully soon, at least), and I'm pretty much down to earth.. when you get to know me, like.. really well.

My house, which was a decent size and could originally fit a family of about four or five, was passed down to me from my grandparents, both of which who died just two years ago. I've lived with them most of my life, thus, giving me the ability to have just about everything they owned when they died. I was glad I got to keep the house and it wasn't sold away. It was always nice to have something from your two most favorite people.

Don't get me wrong, I have a mom and a dad, just like every child had or has, but they weren't really the greatest. I mean, sure I loved them, but they were kind of naive when it came to their children. I have two sisters and two brothers, the only bad part is they're all half siblings. My two sisters, Callie and Christie, share the same mother as me, but we have different dads. If you haven't noticed, my mother named the three of us. My brother, Jason, shares the same dad as me, but we have different moms, and my other brother, whom I've never met before, shares the same dad, but different moms, but has a different mom than my brother, though. My grandparents had to tell me about him. It's all one giant mess, if you ask me, but I still love my family.

Anyway, let's stop talking about the past, and get to the present. My bus finally arrived, which was a good thing, so I stood up and headed on in. Greeting the driver with a head nod, I put my three dollars and three quarters in the little money machine and took my seat. Yea, it was getting really expensive these days, but, believe it or not, I enjoyed any kind of vehicle ride. Whether it be cars, buses, trolleys, planes; you name it, I loved it. I guess you could call me an odd ball, but I couldn't possibly be the only one.

I made sure to take a window seat. If I didn't, I'd feel congested and then I'd have to stare at all the weirdoes who also take buses. Yea, I called myself weird, but who cares? I stared at all the cars we drove by. I had a car of my own, but preferred to take the bus to school. I'd rather pay nearly four dollars every morning for a bus ride, than pay four dollars per gallon of gas. Suddenly, everybody was jolted forward a little as the bus stopped at a stop light. Damn drivers never know how to ease on the brake.

As I stared out the window, my eyebrow raised sharply as I noticed a Ford Saleen Mustang police car parked off to the side of the road on the opposite side. I'd never seen a Mustang cop car, and it really didn't seem like a big deal, but this one caught my attention. I only had about three seconds to get a good look at it before the bus driver floored it when the light turned green, and I nearly laughed at what I saw.

You know how some po-po cars have "To protect and serve," written on the sides? Well, this specific car had something a little more... intimidating painted on its side.

"To punish and enslave?" I chuckled to myself. What a sick joke, but whoever the guy was that drove it around, _must_ have had a good sense of humor. Shaking my head, the image of the police car was still burning in my brain, and for whatever reason, I couldn't shake it. The police cars in Dormont, the borough that I lived in, were Chevy, not Ford. And not only that, they were mostly white, with a thick, blue stripe across their sides that said "Police". I also knew it couldn't have been a Greentree or Castle Shannon police car. This cop car that I'd seen was mostly black, with a white door that said "Police" on the side, and not only that, but there was a weird symbol on the side of it. It looked like a.. bird or something, but It was too far away to tell for sure.

Shrugging it off, I thought of it as nothing, and continued to stare out the window for the rest of my ride. I was disturbed from whatever thoughts I was in as my phone vibrated furiously in my pocket. Wasting no time, I dug it out, and folded it open. It was a text message from my friend, Nate. He was even a student at my University, and a really good friend of mine also. Oh wait, my bad, I still haven't told you where I went to school.

It's a place called UPSM, or University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. It was a pretty good school, with lots of options and taught its students well. It's curriculum is pretty much for anybody, whether or not you know what you want to do in the future, because, like most med schools, its classes help students pursue any career option in the medical field.

My dad became a nurse's assistant about, eh, eight or nine years ago. Give or take a few. Now, since he finally decided what he wanted to do, he works full time as Neurologist. I, myself, wasn't really in to the brain, so I decided to go for something along the lines of..

I still don't know, to be honest.

There are so many options to choose from, and it's such a hassle to think about _where _you want to be when it comes to your future.

I'm taking it easy for now and enjoying myself while I still can.

Suddenly, the bus stopped, and sure enough, it was right where I needed to be. Quickly standing up, I headed outside and took in the fresh, summer air.

Realizing I'd forgotten to answer Nate's text, let alone read it, I quickly flipped my phone open again.

_Text me when you get to the big boy. I got good news_

I laughed at Nate's text. Big boy? He would. He was referring to my school, if you hadn't already guessed. He was known for coming up with goofy code names and nicknames.

And seeing since I was at the, uh, _big boy_, I quickly typed a message back.

_At the big boy. Whats the news, Nate?_

I couldn't help but laugh at my own message. I felt like an idiot. As I walked, somebody turned a corner and nearly ran face-first, in to me. "Holy shit!" I yelled. It was the first thing that came in to my mind, sadly enough. I was so dramatic sometimes.

When I realized it was Nate, I calmed myself down. "They opened up that new McDonalds down the road. We should totally go after classes."

I just stood there, staring at him. My eyebrow slowly raised and my mouth was opened slightly. "McDonalds? The hell? You texted me saying you had good news, just so you could tell me that your good news was a McDonalds, one of the thousands the 'Burgh already has, opened?" He shrugged and I rolled my eyes with a laugh. "You're a pain in the ass, sometimes."

Nate was tall, blonde and witty. He was probably the most attractive friend I had, in all honesty. A lot of people asked me if he was single, thinking because we were best friends, it'd be easy access to talk to me first. I was used to it, though, and I'd always tell them he was seeing somebody. Not that I wanted him all to myself, because I didn't. He's too much like a brother to me, but it was because he'd always asked me to tell them that. He wasn't looking for anybody, having just been dumped by his ex girlfriend, whom he'd been with for more than three years.

The reason why she dumped him? Me.

Nate was a tough guy, and he wasn't gonna stand anybody who tried to tell him to stop being friends with me. She had trust issues and, in my opinion, she was a bitch anyway.

He grinned, "Asshole's my middle name." Then he shook it off, "But look, we gotta head down. I'm starving and I didn't eat breakfast this morning." It was about nine in the morning.

"Not my problem you starve yourself, fatty," I joked. He wasn't fat at all, though, which made him more mad. If anything, he was a pretty sight for sore eyes.

He continued to grin, though. "When's the last time you've eaten, Miss IthinkI'msooverweight?" I had this knack for lying to myself. I wasn't necessarily over weight. Like few people, I was blessed with a high metabolism, so I could eat whatever I wanted and hardly gain a pound. I didn't like to brag about it, though.

I had wide, baby-making hips, which bothered the hell out of me. A lot of people told me that men liked girls with wide hips and big asses. I hated those features about me.

I shook my head with a laugh, ignoring his question. Suddenly, that police car I'd seen early came into my mind, it's image burning in my brain like somebody carved it there. "Ever see a mustang police car before?"

"In movies, maybe," He shrugged.

I shook my head, "No, I mean around Dormont." I scratched my head, wondering if the question was a bit weird to ask.

He looked confused. "Not that I know of." Nate, like me, was from Dormont as well. "Why?"

As we decided to walk towards the massive building that was our school, i fumbled with my fingers. "I saw a mustang police car." I suddenly laughed, remembering the motto on the side of it. "It said 'to punish and enslave' on it."

He laughed. He was always one to get a kick out of that kind of stuff. "No kiddin'?" He laughed again. "That's great. Would've been a Kodak moment."

I smiled, "I didn't have a camera on me." I sighed as we got closer to the school. People were already starting to fill inside. "Next time I see it, I'll def snap a pic for ya." I stopped and turned to face him, knowing this is where we usually split up to head to class.

"Alright, I'll see you in a couple hours, then," He held out his fist, and I tapped my own fist against his. "McDonalds at five?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure thing, Nate." With a grin, we left each other behind and went to our classes.

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**Whaddya think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll eventually change the point of views so you can get some of Barricade's thoughts in future chapters.**

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Sure enough, after classes were over, I met Nate at the main entrance and we headed for his car. It was a silver 2009 Chevy Impala that he'd just gotten about a year ago. I could admit I was jealous that he had a nicer car than I did, but I shook it off. Just for the hell of it, I glanced up... and froze.

I stopped mid-walk and grabbed at Nate's sleeve, tugging hard. He stopped abruptly and turned to face me. "What?"

I pointed at what I saw. "It's that mustang police car," Sure enough, said car was parked a few hundred feet away, facing our direction.

Nate laughed. He _always_ laughed at something before talking. "Wanna go check it out?"

I gave him a dirty look, "Why would I want to check out a police car?" I growled, "Yea, because that wouldn't look suspicious at all. 'Hey, Officer, don't mind me, I'm just passin' by as I eye your car up and down from hood to tire'." This caused him to laugh again.

He was still looking at it though. With a chuckle, he said, "Maybe it's stalking you. After all, it's just sitting there, and the last time you saw it, it was just sitting somewhere off to the side." As if it heard him, the car's headlights turned on immediately, the engine was heard as it revved.

Suddenly, it drove off down the road. Funny thing was, though, it didn't look like anybody was in it. Either that or I was going blind, or my eyes were just playing tricks on me. "Creepy," I said to myself as I shuddered. Then, I turned around and opened the passenger door to Nate's car. "Come on, let's go."

As Nate got in and started the ignition, I pulled out a little baggy from the glove compartment and opened it. Inside, contained bottles, tubes, and compact disks of makeup. Yup, I had spare makeup in my best guy friend's car. I was usually too lazy to put it on before school, so I always kept a spare bag in Nate's car, for when we go out to places. McDonalds wasn't really a place to get all formal looking for, but I felt weird without it.

Pulling down the visor, I looked at myself in the mirror. I had a dark brown hair that used to be long, but I recently got it cut. Now it's a little beyond my shoulders. It was straight on the top, but got wavy at the ends, but I liked it that way. It was also not too thick, or not too thin, which made it pretty easy to handle. My eyes were a light, light brown. They almost looked kinda yellow, but they were one of my best features. My lips, on the other hand, were my worst feature, in my opinion. They were kind of big, and I hated that because they always looked so red, and I couldn't stand having my lips a deep shade of red, so I always resorted to light pink or skin-tone colored lip glosses. Big, red lips made me look more pale than I already am.

Eyeliner was my best friend, and I had no problem putting some of that on, while I used a cover-up stick to rub on top of some blemishes that had begun to form. When I was finished, I was impressed at the results for only having about ten minutes to do it. Doing my makeup took me as long as walking a mile.

Nate would occasionally glance over at me, and I'd look back with a raised eyebrow, "What are you lookin' at?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "You've no idea how many of my guy friends see that shit in my car, and automatically assume I'm gay."

I laughed, "As far as they know, you are." I loved Nate for the simple reason that he let me keep whatever I wanted in his car. It was like a storage.

He only shook his head and continued driving. Finally, it only took a twenty minutes and a long line of traffic to reach McDonalds, and as soon as he parked, we hopped out and headed inside. As we entered the building, I took a window seat and waited for Nate to get the order. We'd always go out after classes to grab a bite, and it was his turn to pay. Although we hadn't been to a McDonalds in a while, he knew what to order for me and he headed up to the line with the other awaiting customers.

All I could do to pass the time up was look at the other people. It was always interesting to see what kind of people came into McDonalds. As I looked around, the bell of the door opening caught my attention, and as nebby as I was, I couldn't help but look. (Oh, and by the way, the word 'nebby' is a common word in Pittsburgh. It's usually used when somebody is too curious and has to get into somebody else's business.. it's hard to explain, but here's an example sentence: "Sure is a lot of noise coming from our neighbors' house. You want to go over and be nebby with me?")

Hopefully you get the point.

But anyway, this guy who walked in was wearing a police uniform, and as soon as I rested my eyes on him, I immediately turned my head to look in the parking lot. "No friggin' way," I whispered to myself as I saw, just sitting out there parked next to Nate's car, the mustang police car.

Alright, so either this is just all some huge coincidence, or I'm being stalked by a mustang. I looked back at the officer, who had, not surprisingly, decided to take a seat at the booth next to ours. We were facing each other now, and I could feel his eyes burning through me. Not thinking, I looked up at him, and our eyes locked. He looked pretty young. I'd guess around the age of thirty. His eyes were brown, but they almost looked a bit redder than I'd ever seen. His hair was a dark brown, but it almost looked black and the only reason I could tell it was, indeed, brown, was because of the sunlight hitting against his head.

He wouldn't stop staring at me, and I was beginning to get creeped out, so I just kinda waved my hand a little at him and said, "Uh, hi there."

He didn't even blink and at this point, my heart began to race. And just when I was about to get up and literally leave, Nate sat down with our food. "That was fast," I breathed in sharply, feeling relieved.

Nate looked at me weird, clearly noticing the sweat that had begun to form on my forehead. "What's up with you?"

Suddenly leaning in, he leaned in too and I whispered as quietly as I could, "Look behind you."

Not wanting to seem obvious, Nate suddenly stood up and pretended like he had to go get straws. As he was walking back, he looked at the Officer and sat down, one eye wide open. "It's a cop. Nothing strange about that." As I pointed my finger outside towards the parking lot, Nate took one look at the mustang, and this time, he looked shocked. "Maybe you _are_ getting stalked."

I couldn't agree with him more. What was weirder though, was that the guy didn't even order a drink, food or anything. He just sat there. Shaking it off, I stared down at my food. Five piece order of chicken selects and fries. My favorite. With barbecue sauce of course. As my stomach rumbled from starvation, I quickly sunk my teeth in the piece of white meat, trying to forget about the Officer.

When we were finally finished with our food, I snuck a look behind Nate and noticed that the Officer was gone, but when I looked out the window, his car was still parked next to Nate's, but, funny thing was, it looked like it had moved, and then I realized it _had_ moved. Now it looked like he had backed it into the space, rather than pulled it in.

It was also weird because I didn't even notice him to get up to leave. I mean, he had all that equipment on, it was kind of hard not to hear the handcuffs and keys jingling on his belt hoops, but I hadn't heard a thing. There was definitely something fishy about the guy, or I was just going insane, which, honestly, wouldn't shock me.

"You ready to go?" Nate asked, taking me out of my train of thought.

I nodded quickly, standing up. "Yea, let's go." Shaking off the thought of the strange mustang car, I headed out the door with Nate.

Of course the passenger side of the car _would_ be next to the mustang and I took this time wisely to get a better look at that strange symbol. Whatever it was supposed to be, it still looked like a bird to me. A bird with strange horns or something. There was nothing on it that gave me a clue as to what borough or county it was from, but I did notice a small, but noticeable scratch on the side of it.

A little part of my OCD kicked in, and I knew I had to fix it. Opening Nate's car door, I dug through my little bag of makeup and pulled out my Fix It Pro Scratch Remover pen that I'd recently gotten after watching a commercial about it. "What are you doing?" Nate asked me, eyeballing me curiously as I turned back towards the mustang. Ignoring him, I took the cap off the pen and began tracing the scratch gently. Sure enough, the scratch began to fade and it was no longer noticeable.

"What the pit do you think you're doing?" An unfamiliar, gruff voice interrupted me, and I dropped the pen from surprise. Quickly scrambling to pick it up, I finally looked at who the speaker was.. even though I had a funny feeling who it was going to be. Sure enough, with my luck, it was the Officer. "What is that you're drawing on my vehicle with?"

He sounded like a robot, the way he talked and all, but I was still scared shitless. "Um, I, uh, there was a-a.. aw, hell. There was scratch," I swallowed hard, finally getting my words out right. "I was just fixing it." I held the pen up to him, "See? It's a scratch removal pen."

He didn't even look at the pen I was holding up to his face. His eyes were pierced into my own. I felt like small, helpless animal being stared down by a vulture. Finally, his eyes shifted to the pen, and he stepped forward. Reaching out, he yanked it from my fingers and eyed it carefully. Once he decided he was done staring at it for what seemed like an hour, he tossed it back, and with me being a klutz and all, I nearly dropped. "Back away from the car," He said, and I couldn't have gotten in Nate's car faster.

Nate looked slightly confused, "What's his deal?" Then he looked angry. Nate went to get out of the car, and I tried stopping him, but it was too late. "What's your problem, man?" He almost yelled at the police Officer. The Officer only glared at Nate. "What? Do you like picking on innocent women?"

"Nate!" I whispered, trying to get him to come back inside and just take me home, but he continued to harass the Officer verbally. Suddenly, the engine of the police car started automatically, and I quickly looked to see if the guy had an automatic starter or something, but he wasn't holding anything in his hands and nobody else was in the car. Nate stopped talking and stared. "Nate, please come back inside." I said as calmly as possible. "Leave the man and his car alone, please, Nate. Naaathan!" Damn him for never listening to me!

"Perhaps you should think twice before you dare speak such words to me," The Officer said, his tone grim. "I'll not stop myself from harming you petty insect humans, Nathan Witwicky and Corrie Chambliss."

With wide eyes, Nate suddenly got in the car, turned on the engine and drove like a bat out of hell out of the parking lot. Glancing in my review mirror, I could have sworn the Officer was gone as we turned a corner.

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**Woah, he knows their names! ;) And yup, now you know that Nate's last name is Witwicky! You'll eventually find out how he's related to the Witwicky family.. and why Barricade is so fascinated with Corrie.. or maybe it's just Nate he has his optics set on.**


	3. Chapter 3

"So do you wanna tell me what the hell _that_ was all about back there?" Nate asked as he sped down the road. I'd convinced him to calm down a little, but he was still going pretty fast, and seemed to be on high alert. I didn't know what to be more afraid of; the cop or Nate's horrendous driving. Either one seemed life-threatening.

I shrugged at his question, looking annoyed. "Like hell if I know," I growled, looking out my window. "It was so strange. It's like, as soon as I touched his _precious_ car, he appeared out of nowhere. He sensed it immediately." I shuddered. "And the way he talked.. he talked as if he _was_ the damn car. Or some robot or something."

Nate swallowed hard at this, and I sighed, but before I could say another word, he replied with, "We're gonna go to your place." I hated it when he ignored my comments, but I knew he was stressed, so I shrugged it off.

"Good, 'cuz I need to get changed regardless," I said, wiping the sweat off my forehead. It was so hot, especially with our nerves all shot now.

Eventually, he peeled into my back alley, burning rubber in the process. I had him park his car in my garage before we went in the house. You never know when that freak would show up again. As soon as that was done, we both rushed into my house. I ran upstairs to quickly get changed. I decided on a tank top, considering how hot it was, and jean shorts. I wasn't a fan of shorts, because I hated my legs, but it was so hot, I couldn't give two shits less. Excuse my foul mouth.. I had a knack for cussing, if you hadn't noticed. I liked to call it a sailor's mouth.

Anyway, I dashed back downstairs, at the same time, trying to pull my hair up into a messy bun. And seeing since I was so bad at multi-tasking, it was, indeed, a _messy_ bun. Nate was sitting on the couch, staring at the blank television screen. He looked like he was deep in thought, and to be honest, it was a _rare_ thing to see.

"What're we gonna do?" I asked, sitting down on the other couch. My arms were folded, despite the heat, and I felt my air conditioning kick on.

Without warning, Nate jumped up from the couch and headed to my house phone. Why did he have to scare the hell out of me lately? First his hazardous driving, then his zombie-like mind, and now diving for my house phone as if he would explode if he didn't reach it within two seconds. "I'm gonna make a call."

"This is _hardly_ the time to chat, Nathan," I said. He hated it when I called him Nathan, and I figured he'd have something sarcastic to say back, but he was too busy dialing rapidly. As he held the phone to his ear, he seemed to freeze with time, but I knew he was just waiting, or hoping, for somebody to answer. "Who are you calling?"

"A relative," He replied coolly.

I raised an eyebrow, "For what?" I never met any of Nate's relatives. They all lived in Tranquility, Nevada, or something like that.

He ignored my question, but said, "Hello? Sam?" Into the receiver. "Yea, it's Nate. Hey, look, man, something weird just happened. I'm not feelin' too safe here. Do you mind if we crash at your place for a little?" There was a long pause, and I looked confused. He wanted to go to Tranquility? Was he really that nervous about the officer? I mean, I was, but I wasn't planning on moving out of the state. "Thanks so much. Yea, we're gonna fly down, so I'll let you know when I reach the airport and I'll tell you everything."

My jaw dropped slightly. I hope he had the money stashed up his ass somewhere for plane tickets, because _I_ sure as hell didn't. As he hung up the phone, I shrugged my shoulders slightly. "Huh? Fly? Airport? Answers, please?"

He didn't look me exactly in the eyes, and he hung up the phone. "My cousin Sam says it's cool to stay with him and his girlfriend for a little. I just think we should get away for now. I mean, besides," He finally did look me in the eyes and I wished he didn't. I didn't like seeing him nervous or upset. "I'd like you to meet them both."

"What about school?" I blurted. I'd paid so much for school, I wasn't gonna just leave because some cop had a pole up his ass.

He shrugged, sitting back down on the couch. "We can take vacation time, you know?" He rubbed at his forehead a little.

I sighed. He was right. We did have vacation time, and who didn't wanna get out of school for a little while? Not only that, but I'd love to meet some of his relatives. Figuring it'd be a good opportunity, I nodded. "Alright. I'll go."

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Two days later, and we were aboard our flight to Nevada. I took a window seat, like I usually do when I'm aboard some kind of vehicle, and Nate was asleep next to me. He'd gone through a lot of stress the past couple of days, and I couldn't blame him for being worn out. I took this time to look at him. Yea, I've known him for a long time now, but I never actually took the time to really _look_ at him. For some reason lately, I've been drawn to him, and I'm not sure why. Like, I know it sounds so cheesy, but I think I feel for him.

I dunno.

I mean, he's done so much for me these past couple of days. He paid for my ticket, paid for my luggage bags and even paid for my food. I felt kinda bad because I hadn't thrown in a single penny. Don't get me wrong, I _did_ offer, but he declined every single time. At first I wasn't too sure about this whole 'Tranquility' thing, but then again, I'd absolutely love to meet his family, like I said before. I didn't have much family around, so I thought it'd be nice to earn some new friends.

As the plane began to shift downwards, I knew that we were about to land. I nudged at Nate a couple times, stirring him from his oh-so-comfortable-looking slumber. He opened his eyes, looking groggy, and yawned, "Where are we?"

"We're landing," I told him. "Is your cous' comin' to pick us up?" I decided to ask, for the hell of it. Alright, I admit, I was excited to meet Sam. He seemed really chill and I was kind of nervous too. I'm not too well with first impressions or anything.

"Yea," He sighed. "I gotta call as soon as we get service again."

With a nod, I didn't say a word. As the plane landed and went down the runway, we waited for it to come to a complete stop and the pilot to lead it to where it needs to go and get everything hooked up before we stood up. We grabbed our bags and headed out into the airport.

As soon as we got in the giant lobby, Nate dug his cell out of his pocket and within two seconds, it was up to his ear. A couple more seconds and then.. "Hey, man. You here?" Pause. "Okay, cool. Meet me at the food court then. Thanks, see ya." He hung up.

As soon as we were all set to go, we headed for the food court. It took a while to find, since the airport was so big, but when we finally did, we began our search for Sam. It was going to be nearly impossible, considering all the people around, but at least Nate knew what he looked like, unlike me.

"Hey, stranger," Nate and I both spun around to the voice. I had no idea whether or not this was Sam, considering I'd never seen him or heard him talk before, but from the way Nate grinned and went in for a hug, I assumed it was Sam. Standing next to him, was probably the most gorgeous girl I'd ever seen. I assumed it was his girlfriend, Mikaela, whom Nate told me about.

"What's up, man?" Nate laughed as they pulled apart from the hug. "Hey Mikaela."

Mikaela smiled, "Hi, Nate. Long time no see," She grinned, flashing white teeth. Then she looked at me and held her hand out. "Carrie, right?"

I gave off a little smile. People always got my name mistaken, but I usually shrugged it off. "Corrie," I corrected. "Nice to meet you."

She slapped a hand to her face, "Aw, I'm sorry. Sam mentioned your name and I got it mixed up," She looked a little embarrassed, but I didn't mind.

I shrugged it off, "Happens a lot, don't worry about it." I grinned. Then I took the time to look at Sam. I can see why Mikaela was dating him. He was pretty cute. As he took my hand for a handshake, I said, "Nice to meet you, too."

"Glad you guys could come down." Sam said. Then he looked at Nate, "Haven't seen you in forever." He looked around for a little, his face getting serious. "Come on back to the car and we can talk about it in there." Nate said we should just sit in the food court and talk about the incident, but Sam insisted that we go to his car. I wasn't too sure why, but when we finally got out to his car, I saw. It was the most amazing thing in the world. A yellow Chevy Camaro with black racing stripes? I was instantly jealous. "Just hop on in and we can head to the apartment." We did what we were told. Mikaela let Nate sit up front and she sat in the back with me.

"So what's going on?" Mikaela asked.

I shuddered, just thinking about that strange cop. "Well, it all started when I was on my way to school about three days ago. I saw this strange mustang police car-"

"Why was in strange?" Sam asked, interrupting me.

I shrugged. "I'd just never seen a mustang cop car hangin' around Pittsburgh or Dormont, I guess. And it had the weirdest motto or whatever written on the side of it. 'To punish and enslave? Anybody heard of that before?"

Both Sam and his girlfriend seemed to freeze, and I felt the car jerk a little, but Sam shrugged it off. He shook his head, "Never," Then he cleared his throat. "But that's not why you guys are here, is it?"

"After school that day," Nate began, wanting to get to the point, "We went to this new McDonalds to eat, and I was up ordering the food, when Corrie said she saw some strange cop sitting over in the next booth. That same mustang was parked in the lot next to my car, and when we went to leave," He glared back at me, "Miss OCD back there just _had_ to fix a scratch on his car with her handy little scratch-removal pen. The guy came out, and freaked on her." He then looked at Sam. "I yelled at him for bein disrespectful to Corrie, and then he just said something like 'don't think for a minute I won't take out you pitiful little humans, Nathan Witwicky and Corrie Chambliss', but I don't freakin' remember. But dude, he _knew_ our names."

I saw Sam look at Mikaela through the rear-view mirror and my heart began to race. There was definitely something they knew and we didn't, but what the hell could it possibly be? "Any idea, Sam?" I asked.

There was a very long pause. Sam was staring down at the car's radio, and I was praying we didn't crash since he wasn't focusing on the road, but for some reason, it was as f the car had an autopilot or something. "I think," Sam began, pausing in between to rub at his mouth with his hand, "that I need to tell you and show you something as soon as we get to my place."

What was going on?

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**:0 Until next chapter! Thanks for the reviews, guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'd like to personally thank my reviewers, you guys are freakin' awesome!**

**The Silent Hunter: NO! Stay with meeee! Here, how about this, I'll cure your aching heart with a new chapter! :DDD Haha enjoy! Thanks for the review!**

**GracefulWolvesInTheNight: Awesome! I'm so glad you like it. :) Yup, Corrie and Nate have a lot of surprises for you guys in the future. ;) Thanks for the review!**

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**Uncertain-Angel: This is what's next! Hopefully you like. ;D Thanks for the R&R!**

**supergirlprime: She got lucky with Barricade, but she may not get so lucky next time. :P Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Psyconinja7: Autobot and Decepticon holograms are awesome. Haha I lovesss scaring people with them! ;) Thanks for the R&R!**

**precious92 or freezeingtime92: Glad I've caught your interest! Thanks for the review!**

Woo! Now that that is done with, please, read on! :D

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Sam's words confused me. He said he had to tell us and show us something as soon as we got back to his apartment, but what could he possibly have to show us? Does he really have an idea as to who that creep Officer was, or was he just trying to change the subject? Either way, it was weird and I was just anxious to get to his place to see what he had to show us so badly.

Nearly twenty minutes later, and we were pulling into a parking spot on the side of a road. We all hopped out of his car and I stared up at the apartment. It was actually a nice place to live in, well, at least it looked that way from the outside. I wasn't too shocked at all when we got inside and I saw how nice it was. It was well decorated and had a good environment. I assumed Mikaela was the decorator because there was no way a dude could make something look this nice. (Heh, sorry boys. ;D )

Anyway, as soon as we got inside, Sam began to dig around a bunch of papers. He laid them out on the table in front of us. They were pictures. Pictures of huge robots, but they were on computer paper, not actual photograph paper. These robots looked at least twenty feet tall, maybe bigger. The reason I could tell they were so tall, was because Sam was standing next to one of them. This one was black and yellow, and, as weird as this may sound, it looked pretty adorable.

But I didn't buy it for one second that this was a real photo. "Photoshop?" I asked with a laugh. He shook his head, and I stopped laughing when I saw his serious facial expression. Mikaela held the same one. "A joke?" I added. There was no way he was going to think I believed him that these things are real. It's just not possible.

Again, he shook his head, but this time he said, "That's Bumblebee."

Nate looked just as confused. "You named the Photoshop creation?" He didn't buy it either. Nate's eyebrow sky-rocketed and he folded his arms.

Mikaela spoke this time, "It's not a Photoshop creation."

I couldn't help it, I laughed. Well, chuckled, but it's the same thing. "I just can't believe that this thing is real," I scratched my head, staring down at the photo with one squinted eye. Then, I looked at the other photos. There were more of those weird robots. One was black, and was pointing something that looked like a cannon. There was another that was bigger looking, and had blue and red in him. My face was twisted in confusion. "When do we get to meet him?" I joked, referring to the one standing next to Sam.

Sam smirked, and I folded my arms in success. I knew I'd caught him. There was absolutely _no_ way these things are real. "You already did."

Nate and I immediately looked up at Sam, a look of disbelief was clearly in our eyes. "Prove it," Nate said. I could tell he was either getting annoyed, or desperate.

Sam sighed, "First, let me explain," He pointed to some chairs, and we all took a seat. "There's this planet, okay? It's called Cybertron." As much as Nate and I wanted to protest, we kept our mouths shut until Sam was finished. "And on Cybertron, there was this thing called the All Spark. Basically, what it did was, it provided the Cybertronians with life. Now, there are the Autobots and the Decepticons. The Decepticons wanted this All Spark to create more of them. They're the bad guys, by the way. The Autobots are the good guys, and they wanted the cube for good, not bad. Well, the All Spark was tossed in to space by the Autobots so the Decepticons couldn't get it. Then they went to find it, and sure enough, it lead them to Earth..." We listened to Sam as he told us about his so called 'guardian', 'Bumblebee'. He said that he met all these other 'Autobot' things and their leader, Optimus Prime. As the years passed by, the Autobots became our allies and began working with the military in secret, but Sam got to keep Bumblebee because, well, he is his guardian and he did buy the car.

"So you're saying that Camaro out there is this _thing_ in the picture?" Nate asked, still confused and his facial expression told me he was still having a hard time believing anything.

Sam nodded, "That's exactly what I'm telling you, and if you don't believe me," He smirked. "well, then you can just meet him in person. Y'know, _face _to _face_."

At that moment, both Nate and I looked at each other, as Sam and Mikaela stood up, and headed for the door.

* * *

As we got outside, Nate and I tried to keep our distance from the car. Even though we didn't believe Sam or Mikaela, there was still something funny about what Sam was trying to tell us about his Camaro.

"You guys ready?" Sam asked.

I nodded and stepped forward. "Born ready. What's your car supposed to do?" I folded my arms, forming a look of disbelief. "Dance for me?" I've never met Sam before, never knew who he was until today, and I already thought he was nuts. Then again, he's part of Nate's family, so it's not very surprising. Ha, Sorry Nathan. As if it could listen, the car began to, literally, blast music and jump up and down on its axles. I nearly took a nose dive towards Sam's apartment, not because the car was moving by itself, but because the music scared the hell out of me. Very unexpected. Gathering my courage, I straightened up and looked as if I wasn't scared out of my pants. "Okay, so it's remote controlled. Very fancy." I gave a small round of applause.

Sam laughed, shaking his head. "You're a funny chick, Corrie." Then his face got serious. "But it's not remote controlled."

I shook my own head with a chuckle, "This isn't enough proof that this car is whatever was in that picture. I need more proof."

Nate nodded, "Yea, come on Sam." He paused, motioning his hands in front of his body as if he was imitating something big. "Can't you make it... I don't know, _transform_, or somethin'?"

"Just take them to the wooded area," Mikaela said to Sam.

Sam sighed. "Alright," He climbed in the driver's seat. "Come on." He rolled down the passenger side window, and ducked his head to look at Corrie and Nate. "Unless you're chicken?"

With grins, Nate and I exchanged looks and climbed inside. A part of me was nervous, and my heart was racing. If this was really some kind of joke, wouldn't he have already admitted it? But now he's taking us to the _woods_ to prove that this.. car of his, is really some alien thing from another planet.

Anyway, Mikaela stayed behind. Apparently there was a dog of theirs locked up in a separate room to prevent the furniture from being chewed, and she had to attend to it. As Sam pulled out of the parking spot, we headed down the road.

It didn't take too long before we came across a large patch of wooded land. Trees covered the horizon and made it nearly impossible to see through them. They were so thick. Of course, there was a small road that lead between them and we came across a larger open field. Nobody was around, so it made it an almost perfect spot to do something that you didn't want anybody else to see. It was in the middle of nowhere too, which helped. A house wasn't spotted for at least a mile.

As the car stopped, Sam instructed us to get out. We did as we were told and before Nate had time to close the door, it shut by itself. He took a leap backwards from shock, and just stared in awe. I couldn't help but stare too, my heart still racing, my nerves shot.

"What now?" Nate asked, never taking his eyes off the car. It was as if they were glued in place, not to mention he couldn't blink either. Finally, he did look up at Sam, who walked over to them.

"Just back up some," He motioned his hand to make them take a couple steps backwards and they did. "Give him some space. He's big, and we don't want him to accidentally step on you." I shot him a glare, but then laughed. Sam was a funny guy, I could admit. Before I could say something, he turned towards the car and said, "Okay, Bee. It's all you now." So now we can talk to it, too... awesome..

I rolled my eyes with a smirk, my arms folded, as I looked at the car. At first, it seemed like nothing was about to happen, but when I saw pieces of the car break off and snap back together in different forms and shapes, I unfolded my arms and stared in shock. The car got bigger, and bigger, and my heart beat faster and faster. The only two words that could even process in my mind over and over again were _holy_ and _shit._

Nate, on the other hand, looked _exactly_ the same way, and if I could take a wild guess, I'd say he was thinking the same two words I was.

Anyway, as I watched this .. _thing_ transform, I noticed that it was beginning to look like the exact same thing in the picture I saw at Sam's apartment. Finally, it was done transforming, and blue eyes met mine as whatever it was, stared down at us.

"Holy," I began.

"Shit," Nate finished.

We both looked at each other, clearly in shock, surprise, and awe. Then, I looked at Sam. He seemed a bit taken aback that we weren't cowering behind some trees. Nate was a tough guy, and I guess I was a tough chick.. unless it comes to roller coasters and stuff like that. "Does it know English?" What? So I was curious, okay? It's an alien _robot_ for crying out loud!

Sam shook his head. "Bee's vocal processors got damaged in battle a long time ago. Ratchet's still trying to fix them up."

"Ratchet?" It was Nate's turn to question.

"Yea, he's the Autobots' medical officer," Sam explained. Oh dear God, there were _more_ of them? "Mikaela works with him occasionally. And then there's Optimus Prime, who I already mentioned. And the Twins: Skids and Mudflap, Sideswipe, Ironhide; but he's a little grumpy, so you might want to steer clear from him, the Arcee Triplets... a few more. They're all cool when you get to know them."

"But how does he communicate then? Sign language?" I asked, still a bit confused. Either that or my mind was totally fried from all this.

Sam shook his head, "The Autobots have the ability to chat internally. Like an internal communication link. That part of him isn't damaged, so he can do it with ease." He motioned his hands around the front of him. "But, when it comes to humans," He pointed towards us, "He uses the radio and stuff. It's really cool."

_Yea, really cool_, I thought to myself sarcastically. Why did my life have to be so.. dramatic? First that creepy cop, and now Nate's cousin was trying to convince us that there's some alien race from a planet 'Cybertron' and they're secretly working with the government... well, the government is pretty shady, so I could believe that. And I also could believe everything Sam said was true.. y'know, considering there's a huge ass black and yellow robot staring me in the face.

"It's actually kinda cute," I blurted my thoughts out loud. The robot closed his eyes and made a face that appeared to be a smile. I couldn't help but giggle. It was freaking awesome! My fear instantly went away and my heart stopped racing.

Sam sighed. "Of course, Bee is gonna have to report that you two know about us to Optimus. He's kinda picky about that stuff, but Nate's family, and any friend of Nate is a friend of mine," He looked at me with a small smile. So he was more nice than nuts. I could dig it.

"When do we get to meet the other big boys?" Nate asked. I was beginning to think Nate had a weird obsession with 'big boys'...

Anyway, Sam shrugged a little and I could almost guess the words that were about to come out of his mouth. "We could meet them right now," He paused. "If you want?"

It was going to be a long day.

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Eh, so I think this chapter was kind of a disappointment.. in my opinion. But hey, I'm getting a lot of positive feedback so far, and I appreciate all you kind reviewers! I'm gonna try to make the next chapter longer.. and better. Hopefully I'll succeed. :P

Thanks everybody!


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews my readers! :)

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Who would known Sam had easy access to a military base? Apparently it was something called NEST, which stood for Networked Elements: Supporters and Transformers. Sounded pretty cool and I was kind of anxious to meet the other Autobots. I'd be one of few to get the opportunity to introduce myself to an alien race. Sounded pretty unrealistic, but it had to be true, considering I already met Bumblebee.

Anyway, apparently they were on some island known as Diego Garcia. It's a military base down there, and it was also their home. Sam explained to Nate and myself that the Autobots have their own hangars down there, except for the Twins and Arcee Triplets, of course. So we were inside Bumblebee, heading down to some giant field of an airport where we'd get picked up at. Of course they had to bring a freaking jumbo jet to haul Bee, which wasn't surprising, but still.. a massive plane for four tiny people?

Awesome!

So we grabbed our luggage and were on our way to the island.

It was pretty cool that Sam could go to the airport and take a free flight down to the island anytime he wanted. I mean, from hearing about how he saved the planet from all that cube mumbo jumbo, it only seems fair. Nate was sleeping next to me. He was always tired regardless of how late it was.

I looked over at Sam. The jet was so wide, it was as if he were across the ocean. "How much longer?

"We're almost there," Sam replied. "About another half hour."

I nodded and I continued to stare out my window. Two flights in one day? Well, it was around eight when we left, and it's about a... ten hour flight, which makes it about nine or ten in the morning down there. here goes ten hours of my sleep, but for some reason, I didn't care. I was wide awake.

The minutes rolled along fast, and when the nose of the plane began to shift downward, I knew we were about to land. I was getting rather sick of planes today, so I was anxious to get off. "Here?" I questioned, looking at Sam. Mikaela was wide awake next to him as well, and the both nodded.

"Are you excited?" Mikaela asked me, a smile across her face.

I nodded. I admit, I was. "I am, actually. Do you think they'll like us?"

Both nodded, "I don't see why not," Mikaela replied, giving me that reassuring smile again. "They're pretty easy to get along with. Even Ironhide, the toughest guy there, has a soft side."

I grinned. I think I was more excited to meet that one. He seemed pretty badass. I was also told Ratchet had a wrench-throwing habit, so I should probably stay on his good side if I wanted my head in good shape and without multiple dents. He must be easy to pick on, though.

Suddenly there was a slight jolt and I quickly grabbed on to the arms of my seat. Nate was woken up immediately. The thing about Nate is, no matter how calm he may seem to be when he's awake, whenever he's woken up abruptly, it's as if he's coming out of an exorcism.. gets kind of annoying sometimes.

"Where are we?" He asked, his voice groggy.

I laughed. "We're at the island." So we all got off as soon as the plane landed, and Bumblebee drove out as well. There were some soldiers who greeted us. They introduced themselves as Major Will Lennox and Sergeant Robert Epps. "Nice to meet you," I said with as polite of a smile as I could make.

"Where are the Autobots?" Sam asked, stepping forward.

Will sighed and grinned over at Epps, "In their hangars. Ironhide, Optimus and Ratchet are always a early risers, so they're around here somewhere. And as a matter of fact, it's time for wakey, wakey for the rest of them."

Epps laughed aloud, "Best time of the mornin', man." My eye twitched. Big tough military guys used words like.. 'wakey, wakey'? Jeez.. I huffed out some air and just shook my head with a laugh. "Follow me, everybody."

So we did as we were told, and followed silently. I took the short three minute walked to examine my surroundings. The sun was beginning to rise, making a really gorgeous horizon. Different shades of yellows, oranges and even purples and some blues were seen as the massive star made its grand entrance. We were completely surrounded by calm, dazzling waters and I instantly felt at peace.

Until there was a loud crashing.

Everybody's head turned towards the scene and tried to find the cause for such a peace disturbing noise. In front of us, about a hundred feet away, two large, but smaller green and red Autobots were lying on the ground, groaning. "The slag, yo?" One of them, the green one, yelled furiously.

"Yea man! The frag was that for?" The red one yelled, but I wasn't sure exactly _who_ they were yelling at.

Until I saw a massive black Autobot step out from the nearby hangar, a smug grin plastered across his face, his arms folded. "Time for wake up, femmes."

"That's Ironhide," Sam said to both me and Nate. Mikaela said _he_ has a soft side? She must have been snorting some kind of drug. "And those two are the Twins, Skids and Mudflap."

Skids and Mudflap. My kinda 'bots! They looked just as cute as Bumblebee, in a weird way. Both of them stood up, and glared daggers at the bigger Autobot. "Not fair! We's gonna wake up in an hour!" I looked over at them, not sure which Twin spoke.

"Yea," The other said.

Ironhide grunted, giving them a glare. "I believe you two get enough recharge in an Earth day. It's about time your slagging afts get some work done, instead of lollygag and slack on your duties." I whistled. Harsh. They must have heard the whistle, because suddenly, the three of them seemed to forget what they were arguing about, and turned to face us.

"Ironhide," Sam said, stepping forward and pointing a hand at Nate, "This is my cousin Nate." Then he pointed a finger at me. "And this is his friend, Corrie Chambliss. They're gonna be staying on base for a little bit."

Ironhide nodded a head in our direction. "It's nice to meet you, Nate. You as well, Corrie." Okay, so he was alright.

"Sup!" Both Twins yelled at the same time, big, goofy grins on their faces.

Nate waved, and I did too. "Wad up," Nate replied. It was so funny, listening to Nate talk gangster to a massive robot.

I decided to take this time to suck up to Ironhide. If I wanted to be on his good side, the least I could do is compliment him. Y'know, make a good first impression. "Nice cannons you got there." Okay, so maybe it sounded a bit perverted

He took a second to unfold his arms and look at them. "Thank you. Just cleaned them up this morning."

"Certainly shows," I replied, putting on the best smile I could get.

"Suck up," I heard Nate whisper. Rob, Sam and the others, including the Twins, just laughed.

Sam shook his head, still chuckling. "Alright, let's go meet Ratchet for a sec and then we gotta talk to Optimus about your.. police car issue." We followed him to an even bigger looking hangar, or I assumed it was a hangar, but it looked like a massive office when we got inside. There were a bunch of wrenches and other tools on counters and whatnot.

I looked over and saw a giant yellow and red Autobot sitting at a massive table. He seemed really fixated on whatever he was staring down at on the table, and his hands were working kind of fast. Suddenly, as if sensing our presence, he looked up. "Hello Sam, Mikaela." He nodded to the two, and then his eyes rested on both Nate and I. "Ah, who do we have here?"

"My cousin Nate," Sam said, pointing towards Nate. "And his friend, Corrie Chambliss. I'm just introducing them to the Autobots and showing them around."

Ratchet looked slightly confused. "And when did they learn about us?"

Sam sighed, "Technically yesterday. They had a bit of a Decepticon problem, so I brought them here where I thought it was safer."

Ratchet nodded, trying to absorb all of this. Then he looked at me and Nate. "Well, it's nice meeting you both, Nate and Corrie. I'm afraid I'm not as exciting as some of the others on base, but if you ever need to know anything, feel free to ask myself."

Ratchet wasn't as short-tempered as he was described to be, or at least, he didn't seem like it. I smiled. Nate wasn't going to be Mr. Talkative today. "Thanks, doc."

He seemed to ponder about what I'd just called him. Then, with a shrug, said to himself, "Better than Hatchet." and went back to work on whatever he was doing.

As we left the medical bay, Sam and Mikaela led the way to a different part of the base. We weren't sure where we were going, so we just followed behind closely. The next thing I knew, we were walking in a hangar, and all the way in the back of it, was a big ass Peterbilt cab, and it was driving towards us. My heart raced. OH EM GEE! It was definitely a dream of mine to ride in a eighteen wheeler cab.. and this one looked sick as hell.

As it got closer, it began to break apart of re-shape itself into the familiar looking robot that I've grown kind of used to seeing around here. This one was taller though, and you didn't need to know his name to see that he was the leader of them all. _The_ Optimus Prime.

"Hello, Sam," He said as he looked down at us tiny people. Then his eyes averted to me, and then to Nate, and then back at me, and then back at Sam. "Is there something you'd like to tell me, Sam?" I didn't like the sound of his tone.

Sam scratched the back of his head. Clearly, it was frowned upon for Sam, or any other human to share the Autobot's stay here on the planet. "Uh, well, you see, Nate here is my cousin," He explained for the twentieth time today. "And Corrie Chambliss is his friend. They had a run in with what I think is a Decepticon, so I brought them here to stay because they were afraid to stay back at home. They claim there was a strange police car, a mustang, and the officer knew both of their names and that he was stalking them, and Corrie there," He pointed to me, "She said there was some weird symbol on his car."

"Sounds like Barricade," Everybody turned to the sound of a very deep, gruff voice. It was Ironhide. "That pathetic mech has probably been searching endlessly for something to pick a fight with." He grunted, "Must think he can pick on a relative of the Witwicky family just because he thinks he can."

"And his friend, too," I added, raising my hand.

"I ought to search for him myself and blow his aft up in to smithereens. See how he likes it," He grunted in annoyance, throwing his hands up and crossing them over his chest. "Punkass Decepticons." This guy definitely hated Decepticons.

"Easy Ironhide," Optimus raised a hand in front of the older Autobot to calm him down, or, I imagined he was older. "We'll all get to the bottom of this, and figure out what Barricade wanted with Nate and Corrie."

"What if he's just after Nate?" Corrie asked out of pure innocence. "I mean, he _is_ related to Sam."

Nate glared at her, "Thanks for making me feel better," Then he smiled, and I knew he was just joking.

"Like I said," Optimus sighed. "We'll find him, but for now, it doesn't seem like he'll be able to get to you both here, so we'll begin our search as soon as the busy schedule clears up." Then he looked over at me and Nate. "Feel free to stay as long as you please. I can understand how stressed you must be over this. You'll learn to get used to us in time, but we please ask that you keep our existence a secret, for the sake of your planet's sanity." He chuckled.

Nate nodded, "Sure thing, big boy."

Nate and his big boys, I swear. If I hear one more 'big boy' comment, I may just have Ironhide shoot him. Some people can probably pull off saying 'big boy' as a habit, but Nate sounded like an idiot when he did it. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Not only that, but it sounded perverted when a guy calls another.. uh.. male a big boy.

"I don't know about you," I said, rubbing my stomach as the sudden eruption hit me. "But I'm hungry as a dog. Got anything to eat?"

"There's a small building just further down the island. It's used as a cafeteria," Optimus explained. "Sam will show you the way."

"Can you take me?" I blurted, not even thinking. Everybody looked at me, and Nate raised an eyebrow. "What?" I looked around, and I instantly felt small.

Optimus turned his head to the side a little, "Why would you want me to take you?"

I shrugged. "I've always wanted to ride in a big rig, and you're the best looking one I've ever seen in my entire life."

I wasn't expecting Optimus to say yes or anything. I just asked for the hell of it. Without a word, he transformed back in to his truck mode, and the driver side door swung open. "Climb on in."

"You mean it?" My eyes went wide and I think I may have almost drooled, but I shrugged that off. "Like, really?"

He chuckled, "Like, _really_. Besides, I have to go down that way to my office to get some work completed."

With a series of girlish giggles, I ran up to him and climbed in. Well, considering how tall he was, I felt like a monkey. When I was in the seat, the door automatically swung closed. That was going to take some getting used to, but I was just anxious to get moving.

Finally, Optimus began to move and I honked the horn. "See ya suckas!"

I was starting to like these alien robots.

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Hope it was good! And dont worry, they'll meet the other Autobots in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

**kRiSsCrOsSfOrEvEr- Thanks for reading and reviewing! Here's more just for youuuu! Haha. Don't worry, we all act like little kids when we get too excited. :P**

**XxBlackEaglexX- Thank you! I'm glad you like my OC, and you don't think she's stupid or anything. And I agree with you about asking Optimus for a ride! I'd kill to even sit in him. Skids and Mudflap will never change, those little slag-heads. :P Thanks for the read and review!**

**The Silent Hunter- Glad it made you smile! Thanks for reviewing and readin'!**

**GracefulWolvesInTheNight- She loves riding the.. I mean IN the Autobots. ;) Hahaha Thanks for the read and review!**

**Standout4Christ- Haha Optimus is, indeed, a pushover. :P And I'm taking laid back as a good thing? ;D lolol thanks for the read and review!**

**Now here's the next chapter! Because I love you all so much, I managed to write it all in one day. ;) hahah**

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For being a random island used by the military, Diego Garcia had some pretty good food. They had chicken, rice, corn, potatoes, pork.. you name it. It was delicious. As I chowed down, I paid attention to some of the other solders' conversations. They talked about all the Cybertronians a lot. One mentioned an Autobot named Sideswipe, but I hadn't met him yet.

There were still a lot of Autobots I hadn't met yet. The Arcee Triplets, Sideswipe, Jolt, Jetfire and Wheelie. Jetfire and Wheelie were the main two ones that I found the most interesting, because Sam told me they were both former Decepticons. I wanted to meet them so bad, because I wanted to be one of the few humans not to just meet the Autobots, but to meet a Decepticon.. well, a nice one, and possibly have a nice conversation.

Unlike Barricade..

Anyway, I was beginning to get overly stuffed with food, and I decided to call it quits. Nate was probably with Sam somewhere, and it was just me and Mikaela.

"So what do you think about them?" She asked, smiling at me. She was so nice and pretty. I was kind of jealous of her. "The Autobots, I mean." She laughed.

I shrugged with a grin. "They're really.. _unique_, and awesome. I'm glad I got the opportunity to meet them." I sighed, and I felt a little emotional all of a sudden. "I mean, I don't have much family anymore and Nate's my only close friend, so I guess I just need some more in my life every now and then."

She nodded, her eyes were squinted in and understanding way. "Well, I'm glad I met you, because you've turned out to be a really nice person. You're outgoing, and funny too, and it's hard to find female friends that are like that and not snobby."

I smiled at that. Mikaela was actually really cool herself. At first, I thought she was going to be some snob, queen-wanna-be, bossy chick, but she was really down to earth and absolutely kind. Her and Sam were lucky to have found each other. I'm still stuck with nobody, not that I'm going to sit here and rant to you about it, but it's kind of depressing.

Mikaela pulled something out of her purse, that made me feel very confused. Who woulda known a girl like her would carry around a toy remote-controlled blue truck. She sat it on the table and smiled down at it. "You can stretch now," She said, and at first I thought she was talking to me, and believe me, I was about to stand up and stretch, but then I saw she was talking to the little car.

Then, as if on cue, it transformed... into the _CUTEST_ little thing I'd ever seen! "Oh my goodness!" I gasped with a squeal as the little blue robot thing stared up at me with red eyes. "That is _too_ cute!"

Mikaela laughed. "This is Wheelie, one of the former Decepticons." She looked down at the tiny thing. "Say hello Wheelie."

"Uh, hello?" Wheelie waved a hand slightly, then pointed a finger at me and looked over at Mikaela. "Who the frag is this?"

I couldn't help it, I squealed again, and picked him up. "Aw, you're so adorable!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" He said, his voice getting louder and faster with each 'hey'. "Watch it, watch it! I'm fragile!"

I sat him down on the table, my face still twisted in a grin. "Nice to meet you," I said. "I'm Corrie."

"I don't know no Corrie," Wheelie said, his arms folded. Then he turned to Mikaela, "Where she from?"

"She came down with Sam's cousin, Nate," Mikaela explained, and the tiny 'bot nodded.

Wheelie seemed to contemplate this for a second. And then.. "Oh, alright," And to my surprise, he held out his tiny hand. "Nice ta meet'cha."

I took it gently. "Ditto." I smiled. Why was every Autobot on this base so freakin' adorable? Well, excluding Ironhide.. who was a hulking of a guy. Okay, maybe he was a little cute too, but I could be calling a forty year old man cute for all I know. They're out there, though.

All of a sudden, there was a very loud crash as Will Lennox dashed into the cafeteria. "Ship full of Decepticons coming in hot! Let's go! Move it! Move it!" Everybody forgot what they were talking about, eating, or drinking, stood up and took off outside, guns and whatnot in hand.

Mikaela and I exchanged looks and I quickly stood up. "As in the bad Decepticons?" I asked to nobody in particular, just to myself.

"Yea," Mikaela gasped as she stood up and ran for the exit, Wheelie following close behind. "I gotta find Sam! Come on!"

I ran for my life after her.

* * *

As we got outside, I heard the very loud sound of cannon fire, and sure enough, in the distance, I saw Ironhide along with some familiar and some not so familiar Autobots standing beside him. They were firing random fire at this massive incoming ship. I could barely see what was on it, but I could only make out little figures..

I stopped running and stared. "Oh no," I whispered as I saw, even thought my vision wasn't that clear from afar, that stupid mustang police car. I could tell because I saw it's lights flashing like a strobe light, and it's curves looked like the mustangs. It's hard to explain, but it's just something you can tell. "Shit, shit, _shit!_"

I placed my hands on top of my head, messing up my hair. I was so scared. There was going to be some major battle, I could tell. As if things couldn't get any worse, some huge jet came swooping down towards the Autobots, shooting missiles and nearly crashing in to them. Ironhide got a lucky shot and knocked whatever it was out of the sky, but before the jet could hit the ground, it transformed into some giant triangle looking robot and began to attack them. Another jet looking thing, one that didn't look like any kind of human vehicle I'd ever seen, transformed from the sky, his feet hitting the ground hard.

Both of the Decepticons began brawling it out with the other Autobots. It was 2 against like.. 10 and for some reason, the Decepticons seemed like they were holding the better fight. I really didn't know what else to do besides stand there, until a soldier ran up to me, didn't recognize him, and told me to get to cover.

So I ran to the nearest hangar I could find and stood at the doorway, peering out at the battle. There were jets with humans controlling them, shooting at the ship, hoping to sink it, or kill whatever was on board. Some tanks were rolling down, also firing alongside the Autobots.

"Get off that slagging ship and find the humans we came for!" I heard one of them yell, and I thought it was the bigger Decepticon who was fighting. I assumed he was the leader. I looked beyond them and saw that the ship had docked, and the other Decepticons were getting off. Worst of all, my fear was confirmed that the strobe light vehicle was, in fact, Barricade. What humans were they talking about? Some of the soldiers? Maybe even Sam? Mikaela? I wasn't sure, but I wasn't gonna hang around and find out.

I had to find Nate.

Scanning as much as the island as I could see, I tried to spot Nate, but he was nowhere in sight. "Nate!" I yelled as loud as I could, hoping those Decepticons wouldn't hear me. "Nathan!" I cupped my mouth with my hands, trying to increase the volume, but it was no match for the sound of cannon fire and sickening thuds landing on the ground.

There was a loud explosion, and I looked over just in time to see one of our jets falling from the sky, erupted in to flames before it hit the ocean with a loud sizzle. A couple more followed it into the abyss, and my heart began to race.

I decided it was time to run as fast as I could, as far away as I could, from the battle. So I began to run. Unfortunately, I didn't make it too far, because one of the Decepticons tossed a smaller silver colored Autobot in front of me. Whadda throw, lemme tell ya.

The Autobot groaned and stood up. I took this opportunity to ask him if he'd seen my friend. "Have you seen Nate Witwicky or Sam by any chance?"

At first he looked down at me confused. There was some blue stuff leaking from different parts of his body, but it didn't seem to be bothering him now. "Who are you?" He asked.

I was a little bit impatient. "I'm sorry, but If I don't find my friend I might _shit_ _my pants._" I was absolutely terrified. Seriously.

Without hesitation, the Autobot transformed into what looked like a Corvette or something, and opened his driver side door. "Hop in, femme, and I'll try to find Sam for you."

Not wasting any time, I jumped inside and slammed the door behind me. He sped off down the island, away from the massive noise of explosions, cannon fire and warrior growls. "Thank you so much!" I panted.

"What's your name?" He asked again, his voice sounded a little too calm, considering what was going down just further across the island.

I swallowed, trying to get my train of thought back. "Corrie.. Ch-chambliss." I had begun to shake and I felt kind of cold, but in reality, it was hotter than the devil's lair.

"I heard your name," He said, still speeding. "Some of the Autobots were talking about you and Sam's cousin. I think the Twins told me." I didn't really know what to say, so I didn't reply. "I'm Sideswipe, by the way," He suddenly made a very, very sharp right turn, causing my body to hit against his door.

I grunted a little from the minor pain. Then I realized the name he'd just said. "Oh! Yea, I was supposed to meet you, the Arcee Triplets, and Jolt today."

"Well, nice to finally meet you," He laughed, but then he sounded serious again as he slammed the breaks, making me jolt forward. Worse than the damn bus drivers back at home.. "I need you to get out now so I can transform." I did as he said and hopped out. Before I knew it, there was a giant Autobot standing next to me. "I think I saw Sam around here before the Decepticons attacked. Take a look around, but I gotta go back and help. This is as far as I can take you away from the battle. I may be a prankster and jokester at heart, but I know how to be serious when it comes to protecting humans." He then transformed back in to his car mode and sped off after saying, "Good luck, brah!"

_Brah?_ Where did they learn how to speak so ghetto? Oh well, who cares?

"Corrie!" I spun around to the very familiar voice, and saw Nate. He was running towards me and as soon as he got close enough, he grabbed me and took me in for a huge hug. "Are you alright?" He asked.

I nodded, still able to hear the faint cannon fire in the distance. I pulled away slightly. "I'm fine, but I don't think it's safe here anymore. We need to leave."

"I- I heard the cafeteria just went up in flames, and I was worried sick about you because that's where I last saw you and- and you.. I," He stopped, and I felt him place his hand on my cheek, his thumb rubbing back and forth. "I was worried sick." He must have been really nervous because he was repeating himself and talking very fast.

As if time had stopped for everything else in the background, and Nate was going in full speed, I felt something that was a very old feeling. The lips of a guy against mine. Nate was kissing me, and I had no idea how to react. I wasn't even sure if I felt that way about him.

Maybe I did? I was terrified that he was in trouble before Sideswipe brought me here. I was considering liking him, I did find myself thinking about him a couple of times. Maybe this is what I wanted.

It had to have been because I was kissing him back and I didn't even want to stop.

And as if the moment couldn't get _any_ better, note the sarcasm, something _colossal_ exploded just hundreds of feet away from us, and...

I had just enough time to glance up and see Barricade running towards us.

* * *

**Hope you liked it. :P I'm finally bringing in some action.**


	7. Chapter 7

**You'll notice there is a normal point of view in this chapter. Just lettin' ya know so nobody gets confused. :P I'd also like to note that Nate is only twenty-one years old in this fic, and Corrie is twenty-five. (Though I think I mentioned her age in the first chapter)**

**Thanks reviewers! I'll make a personal reply to all of your reviews for next chapter in my author's note. :) (Also, for those who are reading and haven't reviewed, thanks for adding this story to your alerts and favorites! Means a lot!)**

* * *

Everything happened so fast. One minute Nate's hugging me, then he's kissing me, and now Barricade, the Decepticon who has been stalking us for God knows how long, is running _towards_ us, not to mention at full speed. Do you know how many feet a Cybertronian goes in just one step? Like ten. Imagine a running one. That's almost two times the distance!

"Got you now, you insolent insects," He growled, and his hands were reaching towards the both of us. The next thing I know, Nate was in one hand, I in the other, and we were at least twenty feet in the air. Doesn't sound like much, but one thing you need to know about me, I _hate_ heights. Hate them with a burning passion of a thousand Suns.

You can only imagine all the screaming I was doing. "Let me go you over-sized doughnut-chomper!" It was the first thing that came in my head to shout.

He growled and held me inches from his face. His red eyes pierced directly through mine. There were scratches all over his face plates and he glared at me. "What did you call me?" His tone was grim, and I knew that I shouldn't have said that.

"Leave her alone!" Nate yelled from his other hand, trying to squirm free, which, was a bad idea if you ask me. Suddenly, Barricade picked up his other hand, opened the hand that was carrying me slightly, and before I could fall out, Nate was in the same hand I was in, and we were both squished side by side.

"Stop right there, punkass," My heart lifted from sheer joy when I heard Ironhide's familiar voice. He had both of his cannons aiming directly at Barricade, both of them whirring to life.

"Put them down gently, or I'll decapitate your head, you half-witted slaghead," Another voice chimed up and I looked over to see Ratchet, who had two giant buzz saws activated and ready to slice 'n' dice.

My breath was getting heavier, mainly because Nate's body was squished into my stomach. "I can't breathe," I whispered, because all I _could_ do was whisper.

"Just stay calm," Nate said back to me. "Hang in there, it'll be alright, I promise." It didn't seem too reassuring, but I had to have some faith in his words.

Barricade looked down at us, "Silence you fraggers!" Then he pointed his right-handed cannon at us, and looked back over at Ironhide and Ratchet. "Try to attack me in any way, and I _will_ shoot the insects."

Optimus and the others, oblivious to what was going on, were running towards us, as Will Lennox shouted, "The other Decepticons fled in the water, but they might be coming back any ti-" He froze, and everybody stopped and stared. As Will realized we were in Barricade's hand, he, along with the others, knew one false movement could result in the death of me and Nate.

"Stand down!" Barricade snarled, inching the cannon's barrel closer to us. "Or they die."

Optimus attempted to take a small step forward. His facial expression told me he wanted to try and negotiate. "Barricade-"

"I said stand _down,_" The Decepticon growled, backing away. I couldn't help it at this point, and I began to cry. It wasn't hysterical crying, but small, almost soundless weeps. I was in pain, I was scared, and I was twenty feet in the freakin' air! I managed to cover my mouth with a hand to prevent me from making any loud noises, the tears dripping down my face and hands like raindrops on a windshield. "Now," Barricade began, taking a few steps towards the Autobots, but making a slight turn as if he were attempting to go around them. "You either let me pass, or the humans will die."

"You wouldn't dare kill them," Ironhide growled, inching his cannons higher and closer.

I almost wished he wouldn't have said that, because the pressure of Barricade's hand tightened around me and Nate and I ended up squealing in pain while Nate gasped for some air. "Is that a challenge?"

Ironhide backed away slightly. "You're a slagging piece of waste metal," Was all he could think of to say.

Barricade's eyes squinted in a frightening glare. "Watch your processors, old mech." Then, he continued to inch closer towards the other side of the Autobots, and suddenly, without warning, he began to transform.. with _us_ in his hands still!

Even though he was a Decepticon, and I was supposed to hate him, I had to admit he was pretty talented, because he managed to transform, at the same time making sure we were in his back seat when the transformation was complete. Barricade sped off with us in the back.

**(Switch to Normal Point of View)**

Ironhide was about to shoot, "Hold your fire!" He looked shocked as Optimus had his hand held out towards him. "You could still harm the humans."

"But, Prime-" The weapon specialist stopped, glaring at his leader as his cannon was still pointed at the car fading away in the distance. "He's going to keep them hostage!"

"It's better than their death, Ironhide." Optimus replied, his tone light, as to not sound harsh. He could never yell, or sound ignorant to his fellow comrades. He wouldn't be himself if he did so.

Sam, who had gone to search for Mikaela, was now back with her by his side. "What happened?" He looked back and forth between the massive mechs, waiting for an answer. "Where's Nate and Corrie?"

Ratchet was the one to speak. "It's Barricade. He took them and sped off." He deactivated his buzz saws. "He was threatening to kill them if we tried to interfere."

"And you just let him _go_?" Sam sounded more than angry.

"Your cousin and friend would have been killed, Sam," Optimus told him, his voice the same light, friendly tone that he used on Ironhide. "We had little choice. The risk of shooting Barricade and accidentally hitting them is too high. Even if we managed to shoot him without hitting the humans, the fall back to the ground would have killed them almost instantly."

Sam's jaw was hanging open, his eyes raging with fire and before he could yell out a remark, somebody stepped forward and spoke.

"So we're just going to sit back and relax while they leave the island on that ship in our _sights_?" It was Mikaela, and she was shocked. "Not even without a fight?"

Ironhide snarled down at her, and that was a first. "Girl, are you blind? We fought as hard as we could!" She was a bit taken aback by his sudden burst. "Sideswipe almost got severely injured in the process!"

"Hey, don't yell at her like that!" Sam jumped in with a yell, pointing a finger at the massive Cybertronian, his rage coming out on the weapon specialist instead of Optimus.

Ironhide, who would have argued with anybody else, sighed and looked down at Mikaela. "I apologize, Mikaela. I'm just stressed right now. We have two humans, who are now our responsibility, being kept hostage only Primus knows where."

"I understand, 'Hide," Mikaela nodded understandingly. He couldn't be blamed, and she knew they did try their best.

"I'm gonna have Rob set up some predators to follow that ship at a safe distance and find out where it goes." Will said, and then he looked over at Sam and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm gonna make sure they get back here safe. Nobody gets left behind."

"We should've destroyed the ship." Sam said. "That's why they brought it. They can go under water for long periods of time, but humans can't breathe without oxygen."

"They might have resorted to killing Nate and Corrie if we would have done that," Optimus told him. His eyes squinted in confusion. "I'd just like to know why Megatron and the others went after those two."

"Maybe they know Sam will go after them?" Ironhide thought with a shrug.

Ratchet scoffed, "Or it's because they know we'd lose that battle." He sighed. "Either way, we lose. They have the humans, and we're stuck wondering what'll happen next."

"Perhaps it's something more _complex_ than we think," Optimus replied, cycling his vents in a sigh.

Everybody was silent. Nobody knew what more to say and they were stuck wondering what to do next. Will eventually parted away from them and went to find Epps so they could work on those predator drones.

* * *

**(Corrie's POV)**

It was so dark, and I was too afraid to speak a single word because I was terrified they'd do something to me or Nate. They'd tossed us in the brig of the ship, and despite the heat outside, it was a bit chilly down here. I was sitting in the corner and I had my knees up to my chest, my arms wrapped around them to keep them in place.

I was looking down at the ground, feeling the ship rock back and forth slowly. I was lucky enough to not get sea sick. I never got sea sick, but Nate wasn't feeling too good, I could see it in his face. What did the Decepticons want with us? Was it to keep us hostage just for the hell of it? Just because they could? Or was it for a more logical reason? Either way, I didn't even know what a Cybertronian was until yesterday, so I didn't know much about them except what Sam told me. The same went for Nate.

So why didn't they just go for Sam? Were they tired of going after him? Was it because he had a guardian and it was just easier to get at us? Maybe for revenge? I had so many questions, I felt like my head was about to explode if they weren't answered right here and now, but there was nothing I could do.

My eyes were still a little damp. It'd been a while since I last cried, so it was a strange feeling. I hated crying in front of Nate especially. Today was the first time, but I already despised it. I felt embarrassed.

"Are you okay?" I heard him ask. There was something different about him. It was as if something changed about him after that McDonalds incident. He seemed like a frightened specimen under a Petri dish all the time now. It made me worried.

My head immediately shot up after he asked that question. He was looking at me, a worried expression across his face. I shrugged, and looked back down. "I guess." I was still feeling a bit awkward about the kiss, too. Yea, I guess you could say I wanted to kiss him back, but it was a bit weird to look him in the eyes.

With a sigh, he stood up and walked over to me. Sitting down, he placed an arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. Although it was cute, the awkwardness returned, but I felt something slightly different this time. I was really beginning to fall for him more, I could definitely tell, but since he was my best friend for a while now, the feeling was going to take some getting used to. "I'm still here, so don't worry about a thing. I'm almost positive the others and Sam are looking for us now."

"And if they aren't?" I looked up, but I didn't look at him.

There was a sigh. "Just trust me."

"Silence in there!" I nearly jumped from the booming voice. I gasped and turned my head, looking at who could have spoken. I was expecting to see Barricade, but I saw somebody else instead. His eyes were crimson like the others, but there was something about him that made me believe he was the leader. The way he stood, the way he talked and the way he barked orders were all obvious signs.

Not only that, but he was in his 'human' form, I guess you could say. It was too dark to see his features clearly, but his eyes were that deep brown/crimson color, and they shone rather brightly. It was scary looking.

Suddenly, another one of those creeps appeared next to him. "Sorry to sound so.. uninformed, Lord Megatron, but, what are we to do with these humans? What is their significance?" He asked, looking up at the bigger one. His voice annoyed me. It sounded raspy, like he was on some sort of drug, or smoking some of that Cybertronian weed.

"Starscream, you fool, I've told you the boy holds secrets even Sam doesn't know about. I plan on digging those secrets out with my bare hands as soon as it's safe enough to assume the Autobot scums don't know our location." Nate and I exchanged looks, and this so-called _Megatron_ continued to speak. He must've been really paranoid about the Autobots. "You hear me, boy? I'll find out what you're hiding."

Nate looked very confused. What the hell was he talking about? Secrets? What does he want from him? Where he placed his picked boogers? Where he hid the cookie jar when he was seven? None of this made any sense. Were all these Decepticons utterly stupid, or did they know something even Nate didn't know about himself?

"And the girl?" Starscream asked curiously, staring down at me. I felt instantly small.

Megatron scoffed. "She's useless, but I figured if the insect boy doesn't cooperate, I could use her as bait to get what we want."

I swallowed hard. The only thing I could think was, Nate, God dammit, you better cooperate with these guys. "You're not gonna find anything secretive about me, because I _have_ no secrets," Nate told him, his voice stern and to the point.

Megatron chuckled evilly. He took a giant step forward, his face nearly inches from the bars. I could hear his breathing, or whatever you called it. I wasn't sure exactly how Cybertronians functioned, even in their human shapes.

He seemed to stare at Nate for a long time, but in reality, it was only a couple of seconds. With his lips curling into a mischievous grin, he chuckled softly."Oh, but you do." With a final glare, Megatron and his little partner turned around and disappeared out of the brig, back on the main deck.

I sighed and looked away from the brig's large, metal bars. What were we going to do now? These guys were stronger than us, they outnumbered us, and they wanted us for some reason that's totally _unknown_ to us.

"If you think it's tough now," Another voice made both of us look back over to the bars. I saw a man's outline in the shadows, and I recognized the voice as Barricade's, his crimson eyes now aglow, "then you have no idea what you're in for during the future."

What the hell did he want? To come pick on us some more? To tell us that if we didn't cooperate, he'd shoot us like he said to the Autobots?

"Well," I began, my voice was bitter, but I was shaking. "If it weren't for _you_, I wouldn't be here, thanks." Who did he think he was? Just because he was fourteen feet taller than me in his giant Decepticon form, didn't mean he could think it's okay to randomly appear and strike up a conversation. "Go pick on somebody your own size, you feebleminded slaghead." Okay, so I admit, I had _no_ idea what the word 'slag' even meant, but I'd heard it spoken out of Ratchet's mouth when Barricade captured us on the island, so I assumed it was some kind of cuss word. And believe me, I have a terrible habit of picking up random words and using them in my own sentences. Sometimes I'll even pick up the way people laugh, or talk.

I could feel Nate's look burning through me, and I could only imagine how wide and frightened his eyes must've been, but I did not care. I wasn't going to let some alien robot come to _my_ planet, capture _me_, and then treat _me_ like the dirt beneath his feet.

He glared daggers and marched a couple steps forward. He looked as if he was about to yell, but then he just scoffed. "Hm. And do think I was going to consider _helping_ you."

I gave him a look that said, 'Are you insane?' Nate spoke up instead. "Help us? You capture us and _then_ you consider helping us?" He stood up and folded his arms. "What the hell kind of a stunt are you trying to pull here?"

Barricade took a while to answer. He had looked away from us and was gazing at the wall to his far left. I could see his eyes travel all along the wall, and he was making no noise whatsoever. Then, as if he'd finally come up with something to say, he looked back over at us. "My leaders have grown weak. We've been trying to figure out alternatives for producing Energon for years, and they've all failed. Megatron, the fragger that he is, thought since you, Witwicky boy, are related to Sam, he'd be able to dig something out of yourself as well."

"My.. self?" Nate was confused, that was obvious. He shook his head. "That makes absolutely no sense. I never even _knew_ what a Cybertronian or all this bullshit even _was_ before I met the Autobots. I didn't know there was another planet with life other than Earth. I'm not what he's looking for."

"But you are," Barricade quickly interrupted. Then he sighed and placed an annoyed hand on his face. "Your mother-"

"I never _knew_ her," Nate interrupted back, his face full of fury. It was true. When Nate was born, his mother had immediately left them, leaving him with his father with no trace behind. No letters, e-mails, phone calls or nothin'. "and what about her anyways? You don't know me!"

I couldn't even open my mouth. I just sat there and listened intently. I didn't know what to say anyway. I looked back over at Barricade, who had his head up, and his shoulders were straightened. "Shut up, boy!" He snarled quietly. "You'll attract attention."

"Tell me what my mother has to do with this," Nate demanded, pointing a finger at the 'Officer'. "Or I'll yell all I want."

Barricade rolled his eyes and looked slightly disgusted. "Your mother was designated Laren, right?" To my surprise, he was correct, except the pronunciation was a little off. He pronounced the letter 'a' like they say it in the word 'air'.

"It's pronounced Lor-ren." Nate snapped.

Once again, Barricade rolled his eyes. "Yes, but it was spelled L-A-R-E-N, correct?"

Nate's eyes were now slit in to a glare, and I'd never seem him so angry in my life. "What the hell does her name have anything to do with why I'm here?" He growled slightly, his hands tightening in to fists. "She had nothing to do with you freaks."

"Had nothing to do with us?" Barricade's eyes closed and he chuckled slightly. It was a chuckle that seemed to make Nate even angrier and the Decepticon placed a hand on his temple, the smile still faint on his face now that he was closer to us. When his eyes met Nate's again with such a seriousness, that made me swallow hard, he finally spoke. "She _was_ us. Her name was Laren, and _pronounced Lair-en_, because she was a Mercedes-Benz SLR Mc_Laren_ 722. She fled Cybertron because she wanted to escape the war. She wanted to have a family of her own, but there was no time for any of the mechs to mate with anybody because they were all soldiers and they were forced in to battle." He seemed to think for a second. "As a matter of fact, she was required to fight alongside with us, but, like I said, she wanted a family. She was sick of the war. Sick of what it was doing to her home and she resorted to Earth. She met your father after a few years of being on the planet, Michael Witwicky, and she disguised herself as a human, 'married' him and they _had _you." When he stopped talking, I was already staring at Nate, waiting to see what his response would be. All of this was so much to take in. Nate was part Cybertronian? That made no sense. How could they reproduce with us? Why isn't Nate some _huge_ robot thing?

I stood up.

I felt terrible for Nate. He was just standing there, trembling and looking down to the floor. I wanted to comfort him, but I couldn't find myself picking up the strength to move any further. "Nate-" Was all I could muster, my eyebrows furrowed.

"You should also know something else," Barricade said before Nate could even think of a reply. "She wasn't married before your father, but she was with somebody else before him." Nate finally did look up at him, his eyes red, and puffy, as if he were about to cry. Or maybe he already was crying.

"Who?" Nate's voice cracked as he spoke that simple word. He looked like his world was tumbling down, and it seemed like it _was_.

When the Decepticon's eyes floated over and rested on mine, I felt my body freeze and a shiver ran down my spine, causing me to shake so hard, I thought for sure I was going to fall to my knees. It was that feeling you get when you ask a question with an answer that could either be very bad, or very good. My knees were shaking harder for some reason I couldn't quite explain, or I could take a wild guess and say it was just my nerves. Or..

"Jason Ackley."

Wait, _what?_

_

* * *

_

**Yup! Corrie and Nate are half siblings. Remember in the first chapter, Corrie said she had a half brother whom she never met, or knew the name of? Now you (hopefully) get it. :D And yes, technically Corrie kissed her half-brother.**

**You'll find out why Barricade is telling them this next chapter. ;)**

Hopefully this story is still running smoothly and it's not becoming a nightmare. xD Haha


	8. Chapter 8

**kRiSsCrOsSfOrEvEr- Glad your question was answered! And yea, I dont even know how I came up with the idea to make them related. xD Just thought it'd be a shocker! Thanks for the read and review!**

**XxBlackEaglexX- Haha yes major plot twist! :D Thanks for the read and review!**

**GracefulWolvesInTheNight- Hopefully you'll find out soon. ;) And yea, I'd be grossed out too! Thanks for the read and review!**

**Uncertain-Angel- Evil, huh? That's a first. mwuhahaha! ;D haha Thanks for the read and review!**

**Standout4Christ- Eh, I would never make the Twins lovers! Too weird. lol. and, if you're still interested, you can stick around and read to find out. haha Thanks for the read and review, though**

**Silverfire's Shadow- Just me and my sick and twisted mind. ;P haha just kiddin'. Glad you're giving this fic a chance! :) Thanks for the read and review!**

**Bul-Kathos- Thanks a ton! Thanks for the read and review!**

**Ironhide and Lennox- Thank you so much! and thanks for the read and review!**

**Haller's Demon- Woah, I never even thought of the Star Wars stuff. xD Awesome! I'm glad you think it's brilliant! :D And yes, I'm starting to become a bigger Barricade fan as I type this story. Hahaha Thanks for the read and review!**

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**Did you ever get that feeling where your world is coming apart right before your very eyes? It's almost as if you were close to death, but somehow managed to escape its grasp? Your body starts trembling, and you feel cold? It's dark and nobody seems to be around to comfort you? That's _exactly _how I was feeling.

Nate Witwicky is my half brother? After all these years of knowing I had a half brother out there somewhere, I would have _never_ once guess it would be Nate. It was like a massive slap in the face. My stomach began to have its own little gymnastics tournament, because all I could feel it doing was flipping and tossing. I fell back to the ground, clutching at my stomach that now had a stabbing pain. I felt like I was about to throw up.

Nate quickly reacted by running over to me, and bending down to try and help me. "Are you okay?" He sounded worried, but for some reason that even _I_ couldn't explain, I turned away from him slightly. He raised a confused eyebrow. "Corrie?"

"I'm fine," I said, but it turned out to be a raspy whisper, and not only that, it sounded harsher. I winced, not meaning to snap at him like that. Things were way too awkward for me now, and I couldn't help how I was feeling.

"Shall I give you two some time alone?" Barricade's voice wasn't at all generous. He was mocking us, and he chuckled a bit at the end. He knew this was enough torture for us to handle.

I shook my head. "I want to know... _why_ are you telling us this? I thought you hate humans." It was clear he thought humans were all scum, considering he's a Decepticon _and_ he captured us and threatened to kill us. But now he's trying to _help_ us, and it was all so confusing. He was telling us information Megatron would probably blow him up in to oblivion for.

"I _told_ you," He snapped angrily. "My leaders are growing extremely weak. We're losing everything we've spent millions of years trying to do. I think it's about time I leave before they drag me down with them." Then he paused, and it was a long pause. Nate nor I interrupted him. We waited for him to say more, and from the look on his face, he was definitely going to. His mouth opened slightly, and he closed his eyes. With a sigh, he continued. "And, I.. I was thinking.. that I might join Prime."

My eyes widened slightly, and I had almost forgotten about the fact me and Nate were related. "You mean the Autobots?" When he nodded slowly, I laughed. "Ha! That's..." As I was thinking of a word to describe my feelings, he raised a confused eyebrow, probably expecting me to say how ridiculous that idea was and that they'd never take him in. But I surprised him. "_awesome!"_ His eyes snapped to look in to mine.

"A..Awe..some?" He questioned, clearly he never heard it before.

I nodded, my eyes bright. "Yea, I mean.. I could show you around the base, I could help introduce you to the other Autobots and some of the soldiers I met." I could see his eyes soften slightly and his muscles, or whatever you wanna call them, relaxed as I continued. "I think it's be a good opportunity. I mean, I'm sure they'll be cautious at first, but-"

"Corrie," A stern voice interrupted me. I looked over to see Nate glaring wildly at me. "Do you hear yourself?" He yelled and I was startled. Nate was yelling at me. For the first time ever.

It made me mad. "Uh, excuse _you_, Nathan," I began, making him mad like I usually do by calling him by his full first name. "But you heard what he said. He's considering joining the Autobots. I'm only trying to be _nice_."

"He _kidnapped us_!" Nate yelled, but he was trying to contain most of it in case Starscream or Megatron would hear.

"They would've killed me had I _not_," Barricade suddenly argued back before I could respond.

Nate looked even more furious at that, "Oh, well _excuse me_. What's that supposed to mean? Maybe if they would've killed you, we wouldn't be on this ship and we'd be safe on that damn island!"

The Decepticon's eyes suddenly got brighter, and more red. Nate looked a little startled, and I couldn't lie, I was scared too. I wanted to tell Nate to shut the hell up so badly, but the way Barricade glared at him, it made me cower and lose my train of thought. "If _I_ were dead, Megatron and Starscream would be down here trying to torture the information that you don't even know right _out_ of you. You'd be _dead_."

"You're a God damn liar!" Nate began, his voice rising in volume. I was beginning to feel a little bit of anxiety. If he continued to yell, they'd hear us and there'd be no hope of escape. "Just because you know my mother, doesn't mean you're Mr. Honesty all of a sudden! You think that just because you lie and tell us that you're _joining_ us, you can kill some time so you can-" Nate fell to the ground with a slight thump. At first he looked confused. Like he had no idea what just happened. Then he looked up, and saw me. "Did.. did you just _push_ me?" His voice was slightly higher in pitch, and I could tell he was angry... or angri_er_.

I was glaring down at him furiously. "Shut _up_ Nate." I growled. "Just stop it! They're going to hear you and it'll be _you_ who gets us killed. Barricade is _helping _us. I don't care how much a part of you tells you not to trust him, but _I_ do." I could have gone on and on with the long lecture I was about to give him, but I decided to take the high road and be gentle. "Look," I began smoothly. "I want to survive, and I know this may sound a bit harsh, but I'm _not_ gonna let _you_ be the one to get us killed with your stupid paranoia."

With that, I turned around and walked across the cell towards the bars. I wrapped my fingers around the long, iron bars and looked at Barricade. His eyes had gotten dimmer, and he was now looking at me. "I appreciate your trust." He said, and it surprised me a little. He was being one hundred percent honest, and his voice had gotten smoother instead of harsh. He sounded like a totally different person.

I nodded. "Just please don't give me a reason to take it away. " He nodded understandingly. I turned back around to face Nate, who was getting back up on his feet. "You're either with us, or you're against us."

He stared at me for a few seconds, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, and then his eyes drifted over to Barricade. Finally, he looked back of me. "Oh, I'm with _you_, but I still don't trust that guy."

"I couldn't care less about your trust anyway, insect boy," Barricade told him with a scoff. "Just don't get in my way, and you'll get out safely." He looked behind himself. "I have a small plan to get off this ship, but.." He paused. "It's going to be rather difficult, but the faster it's done, the better the outcome."

"Just tell us what we have to do," I told him. At this point, I didn't care if we had to jump off the world's highest cliff. I just wanted back in to the arms of safety.

Without replying, his human shape disappeared and out from the shadows, appeared the mustang. It's engine was revving quietly and he began to transform. The brig was a bit too small for his full form, but he managed to transform an arm out. It was strange to see a mustang with an arm. Activating a cannon, he aimed it right beside me. "Move out of the way," I did as he was told and went over to Nate's side. Before there was time to think about what he was going to do, a loud shot rang throughout the silence, causing me and Nate to jump. Looking to my left, I saw a massive hole, the size of at least two cars, in the side of the ship. "De-activating the cannon, he quickly said, "Go out through that hole. Hurry!" He nearly yelled. "Before somebody sees you."

"What about you?" I asked. I was scared. He wanted us to jump into the freakin' ocean.

His voice was hurried. "Don't worry about me, just get the slag out, now! I'll tell 'em you were trying to escape and I blasted a hole in the wall in attempt to stop you." He groaned, "Look, just go and I'll follow. Hide under some of the debris floating around. GO!"

With that loud 'GO', I nearly _dived_ through that hole. Nate quickly followed, and we were met with, surprisingly, warm-ish water. Well, it was kind of chilly, but it had some warm spots from the sun. Ducking our heads down underneath some large pieces of metal that had come off the ship during the blast, we swam in the opposite direction as fast as possible.

**(Normal POV)**

"What's going on down there!" Megatron's voice sounded more furious than it had ever been as he stomped downstairs, never minding that his natural Cybertronian form was way too large for the size of the brig. He had nearly torn apart the steps as his feet sunk right through them, smashing almost every single one from his powerful weight.

As soon as he saw the hole in the wall, with the sunlight peaking through it, his eyes nearly widened. "Master.. Megatron," Megatron's eyes widened when he turned his head to see Barricade lying on the floor, blue fluid leaking from near his chest plates, close to his spark. "The.. insects.. they have more power than we all thought. They escaped too quickly for me to react."

Megatron's fist curled tighter. "What is this?" He bellowed. "Some kind of joke? You're telling me two small, pathetic humans escaped from you?" Barricade winced slightly. He had already injured himself by shooting his own body, but now Megatron could easily injure him more. He didn't respond, not wanting to say the wrong thing. Megatron growled, "Get your sorry aft up! You'll be responsible for finding them, you insolent waste of metal!"

_Bingo_.

Even though Barricade's face wasn't visible, he would have been smirking. Megatron was such a fool. A powerful fool. "I'll be back shortly," Barricade said, smirking at his own lie. It felt great to lie to his so-called 'leader'. Without another word, Barricade sped through the hole and flew outside of the ship.

Barricade hated 'swimming'. First of all, Earth's gravity made it difficult to float anywhere and it was just a pain in the aft to get water out of places that there just wasn't supposed to be any water at all. Simply put. But, thankfully, he could swim fast with some internal propellers, or small fans. He was surprised the stupid Decepticons hadn't found the humans. They couldn't have gone that far, but then again, he did call them 'stupid Decepticons' for a reason.

As he activated internal heat scanners, he saw the two familiar humans floating on the surface, next to large debris. With cycle of his vents that was a Cybertronian 'sigh', he began to swim upwards.

**(Corrie's POV)**

Okay, so I lied about the warm water. We were _freezing_ now. I didn't care how hot it was, it was freakin' cold in here. Not only that, but I remembered we were probably in shark-infested waters! Awesome right? Nate wasn't saying much to me. He'd occasionally tell me to swim a little further, but he never once asked if I was okay or anything. I didn't really care. I wondered where Barricade was instead.

As if he read my thoughts, there was a few bubbles in front of us and then they got bigger. Praying it wasn't something that could potentially shove us both in its mouth, I sighed in relief when Barricade surfaced not too far away, in his full robot form, or whatever you wanna call it. I'll have to ask him later.

"Are you alright?" Barricade asked.

"We're fine," Nate snapped harshly, glaring at the massive machine. I wanted to shove him again, but I refrained.

Barricade's crimson, mechanical eyes pierced through Nate's. "I wasn't asking _you_."

I was slightly surprised. He was talking to me? Well, he was looking at me now, so I nodded, "I'm okay." Was it just me, or did Barricade just show some concern?

"How long can you hold your breath for?" He asked, and I was a little bit confused.

"Why?" I asked curiously. When he only stared at me for a response. I shrugged, "A minute, maybe?"

"Then I'll get you back to the base in a minute," He positioned himself forward. "Hurry up and grab on to me. It's going to be a fast ride. Besides, I'd like to get you back to safety before Megatron sends out Starscream or others for a search. He's expecting me back soon."

I did as I was told and grabbed tightly on to a piece of his armor. It felt weird to grab on to a Decepticon. He was cold and slippery to the touch. I looked back at Nate, who was just floating there, glaring at Barricade. I wanted to yell at him to hurry is ass up, but I didn't want him to get more angry, if that was even possible.

"Are you _coming_, boy?" Barricade sounded annoyed.

"Please, Nate," I pleaded. I decided to be more gentle with my tone of voice, hoping that would work.

Nate looked from me to Barricade, and then back to me. Finally, he began to move forward and he grabbed on to a piece of armor. "I'm doing this for you, Corrie."

Before I could even think of a response, Barricade interrupted me. "As _cute _as that is, we don't have time for chit-chat. Take a deep breath. If, for some reason, you need to come up for air, just tap on my face plate and I'll take you up for a couple of seconds." He chuckled slightly. "This shouldn't take too long," Both Nate and I sucked in as much air as possible. "Here we go," Barricade said, and I used one hand to cover my nose as we suddenly went under, and sped forward nearly as fast as light.

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Not sure when yet, but you'll eventually find out why Megatron wanted them so badly, and what secrets he believes Nate holds. :P

I have a lot of planning to do. :P


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews, people! :)**

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Considering we weren't that far away (maybe two or three miles) from the island to begin with, Barricade had us close to it within three minutes. I could see it on the horizon, and my heart raced with excitement. Safety was just a few miles away. "Are you both alright?" Barricade asked. I could tell he wanted to say "Are _you_ alright," mainly because he wasn't too fond of Nate, but he was trying his best to prove Nate his loyalty with the Autobots now.

When Nate refused to answer, I did for us both. "We're okay." I swallowed the saliva that had begun to form in my mouth. Yea, gross, I know. I was kind of cold, but something about Barricade warmed me. Maybe it was just the fact his engine was hot, and it made the water around us slightly warmer. I dunno.

"Good," He said and then sighed. "Hold your breath again. We're going in." With one last huff of air, I closed my mouth and was met with the water on my face once again.

We took off.

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**(Normal POV)**

"Major Lennox, we just got confirmation that there is what we believe a Decepticon heading towards the base. It's got two contacts with it." One of the guys on base, who Lennox hadn't really gotten to know over the last couple of years, quickly ran up to him.

Will's ears perked at this. "Two contacts you said? Are they bigger? Smaller?"

The guy nodded. "Smaller, sir. We believe it's the humans, but we don't know for sure." He sighed and looked out towards the open water. "They were nearly touchin' the island when I last checked. I wouldn't be surprised if they're a lot closer now. They were movin' fast."

Will nodded, "Alright, get back to your station and keep an eye on it." As the guy did what he was told and ran off, Will spotted Rob. "Tell the others to get ready just in case there's an attack. We got a big contact with two smaller ones headin' for the island. I dunno what to expect."

"I'll go set up," Epps nodded and took off, going to warn the others. This was beginning to become one hell of a day for Will and the other soldiers. Hopefully it was the humans on their way back and they were safe. He wasn't too sure about the third one though.

"Here it comes!" He heard somebody yell and Will instinctively raised his gun to his face, aiming it for the water. Glancing from the side, he saw Sam and Mikaela in the distance, behind some soldiers who were also aiming their guns, looking curious and concerned, maybe even frightened, hoping that these contacts were their friends.

Will didn't know exactly _where_ it was going to appear, but it was definitely coming.

He wanted to be prepared.

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**(Corrie's POV)**

Barricade had slowed down dramatically, and I knew we had reached the shoreline. He nearly came to a stop and before I knew it, we were surfacing.

I gasped for air and I heard Nate do the same. I was wetter than a dog after a bath, my hair sticking to my neck and forehead. Realizing that my feet could touch the ground, I stood up and began wiping the hair away from my face. "Gross," I said to myself as I felt the sand in my shoes. I hated that feeling.

"Step away from the humans," I looked up to that familiar sound of Ironhide, who was standing three hundred feet away, aiming a massive cannon at Barricade.

Barricade clearly didn't want to argue, and I wasn't sure why he wasn't putting up an argument, but when I saw him get up to move away from us, I saw that familiar blue looking stuff leaking out of him. It was the same stuff that was coming from Sideswipe not too long ago. "You're injured," I gasped, looking at the wound.

Barricade's red eyes met my own. "It was a necessary thing to do if I wanted to get you back to the island safely."

Ironhide seemed to hear this, and his weapon lowered slightly. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly raised it and glared. "Keep moving, you slag heap!" I was mad. He _saved_ us, was clearly injured, and Ironhide was giving him a hard time. I bolted for Barricade. "Girl!" Ironhide growled.

Ignoring him, I continued to jog towards Barricade, and placed a hand on his armor. "Don't move, you're hurt." I looked over at Ironhide. "Stop making him move, he is injured. You're making it hurt worse!"

Ironhide looked slightly taken aback. I could only imagine what he was thinking. _This pitiful human girl is protecting that __thing_? But I didn't care.

"Corrie, get away from him!" I heard somebody yell, and I looked over to see Sam and Mikaela. Sam was the one who yelled. "He just kidnapped you not too long ago! What are you thinking?"

"Just come over here!" Mikaela yelled over to me.

I shook my head. "No, I need to see Ratchet. He needs medical help. He's not going to hurt us."

"You can bet your bottom dollar that I will _not_ be treating the likes of him." Everybody turned to the voice of the one and only medical officer on the base, Ratchet. His arms were folded over his broad chest plates, his eyes set in a glare on Barricade.

"But, Ratch-"

"Prime," I was interrupted by Barricade. I snapped my head to look at the Decepticon, and followed his gaze to see Optimus Prime. "I wish to join the Autobots." Talk about straight to the point.

"Ha!" Ironhide scoffed, but said no more.

Optimus, on the other hand, seemed puzzled. His eyes were squinted, but they did not look harsh. They looked confused. "After all these years of battle, carnage and destruction," He began, his voice sending chills down my spine. It was so powerful and full of emotion. "_Why_ do you wish to join us now?"

Barricade was hesitant with his response. I could tell he didn't want to say the wrong thing and make himself look like an idiot, or make it seem like the only reason he wanted to join was because he was already injured and helpless and would be able to do nothing if the Autobots were to attack. "The Decepticons no longer have something to stand up for," He began. He paused, giving each and every person a look. "They're losing _hope_ in what they believe, but Megatron refuses to see this is true. He's blind, and I'm not going to let them drag me to their level."

"What level?" Ironhide growled. Did he ever stop arguing? "You're already a filthy Decepticon!"

"Let him talk!" I snapped back, feeling hot all of a sudden. Once again, Ironhide looked taken aback.

Ratchet unfolded his arms. "You stick up for him, femme?"

I had no idea what the hell a femme was, but I nodded to his response anyway. "If you're all really as good as you say you are, you'd give Barricade the benefit of the doubt." I especially looked at Optimus, mainly because it was up to him on whether or not he'd let Barricade stay. "So far, in my eyes, he's been honest, he brought us back from the ship and he's _not_ fighting with you."

Everybody was silent as they all stared at me. I felt like a tiny flea. Barricade was also speechless as he eyed me curiously. I was surprised Nate hadn't said anything. Optimus did that noise that sounded like a mechanical sigh and took a step forward. "Corrie, I can see where you're coming from, but you must understand that Barricade has been against us for thousands, if not millions, of years. I can't just say yes right on the spot."

"I'm asking that you give him a chance," I replied coolly, receiving a glare from Nate. He could glare at me all he freakin wanted! He was pissing me off. "I think he's proved himself a little. Consider letting him stay on the base and give him the opportunity to prove to you that he's loyal to _you now_."

I was expecting a scoff from Barricade from the words I'd chosen, but instead, he was nodding. "The girl speaks the truth, Prime." He said, his voice deep and husky. Even huskier than Ironhide's. "I may have killed my fair share of humans and Autobots, but I'm trying to redeem myself here."

"I understand this," Optimus began. "and I may be the one who makes those kinds of decisions, but I must also hear what my fellow comrades have to say about this and what they think. I wouldn't be a good leader if I didn't consider everybody's thoughts on the situation."

I nodded in understanding, knowing that Ironhide, Ratchet and possibly the others wouldn't allow it. They're too afraid he's just playing games, but _I_ knew he was telling the truth. "I think he should be able to stay." Everybody turned their attention to the new voice. Although it was familiar to me, I couldn't remember who it was. Until I saw him. Sideswipe.

Ironhide rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Typical," He mumbled, triggering a glare from the smaller, silver 'bot.

"I'm serious you cranky bastard," Sideswipe argued. "I think Corrie has a point. Benefit of the doubt. Any Decepticon who is joining us should have it. Even an Autobot who we never met before should have it."

"Yea, except I remember quite clearly that Mr. Officer over there tried killing me a couple years ago," Sam said sarcastically, folding his arms and giving Barricade a death stare. "Over my eBay page."

Optimus sighed and placed his fingers against his 'temple'. His eyes were shut and he seemed to be in deep thought. It's a yes or no situation! Besides, if Barricade _did_ try something stupid, he's outnumbered! It didn't take a rocket scientist to see _that_.

Finally, he looked up and his eyes drifted from Barricade, to me, to Nate, to Sideswipe, to Ironhide and Ratchet, to Sam, and then finally, back to Barricade. "You may stay with us," He said. I mentally cheered and screamed excitedly. Thank God I kept it in my head. "On one condition; you'll still receive orders from those who rank above you. And, for the record, you are ranked as a scout and a hunter."

Barricade nodded at these terms. He seemed satisfied enough and didn't argue at all. "I'll make sure you all see that I am of no harm. But, Prime, I'd like to ask a favor," He seemed hesitant on his last words.

A favor? This should be good.

Optimus raised a curious eye ridge. "What is that?"

Without losing eye contact with his new leader, he didn't even flinch when he asked the simple question. "With your permission, would it be acceptable if I were Corrie's guardian?"

My eyes widened slightly. He wanted to be my what? Guardian? What was that? Why could nobody be clear on what they meant! Specify! Ugh, looks like I'll have to ask him what it is later. Clearly he wanted to be my guardian, I understood that much. And since the keyword was 'guard' I'm assuming he means as in a protector or something? Sometimes I thought I was blonde.

"I'm afraid I have no say in that. Corrie is the one you must speak with to get that kind of permission." Optimus's eye'brows' furrowed.

Barricade looked over at me, and I could even feel Nate's eyes glaring right through me. He knew me well enough to know what I was going to say next and I'm glad he was mad. I looked around at the other Autobots for a second. This could definitely be a good opportunity to prove Sam, Ironhide and Ratchet wrong. Looking back at Barricade, I smiled.

"I accept!" Then, with a smirk, I looked at Ratchet. "Can my guardian have some medical assistance, now?"

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**I have a new fascination for Barricade now. :P And no worried, more Corrie and Nate conflict with erupt soon. ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, thanks for the reviews folks! Ill type up personal thank you's in my next author's note next chapter. :))**

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Ratchet was a very talented and dedicated medical officer, from what I've heard, and I knew despite how much he disliked Barricade because he was a Decepticon, he would never leave an injury unattended to. He brought Barricade to his office in the Med Bay. Barricade had almost blown his spark right out of his chest, according to the skilled doctor. Barricade argued with him that he knew what he was doing when he shot himself and he was guaranteed to live no matter what.

Ratchet had gone out of the medical bay in a fury storm when he was finished with the Decepticon. I'd even witnessed his famous wrench throwing. I think he's bipolar.

Anyway, I sat in a human-sized chair next to the massive table that Barricade was sitting on. I decided to ask about the guardian thing. "So, what does it mean when you said you'd be my guardian? Like a parental guardian?"

He shrugged. "I suppose it's similar, except I don't like being referred as your _parent._ Being a guardian is very dangerous and has many risks. I have to keep watch over you at all times and nothing, under any circumstance, is to prevent me from doing that. It's dedicated work, so you should feel honored that I'd use my life to protect you."

I finally understood, but what I didn't get was _why_. "I don't understand why you chose _me_. Unless you think I'm too weak to fight for myself."

"When it comes to fighting a Cybertronian, you are weak," He said, and then, to my surprise, he chuckled. Even though it wasn't a full-hearty laugh, it was still a smile of some sort. "But that's why I chose you."

I felt a little disappointed and I folded my arms. "Well, there are _other_ humans just as pathetic as me on this island. Why didn't you choose one of them?"

He looked a little hurt for a second, "What are you talking about, girl?" He snapped, giving me a slight glare suddenly. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Whatever," I sighed, standing up on my feet. "I think there's another reason." I don't know why, but _something_ told me he was hiding something. It's instinct.

As I went to walk away, a massive hand stopped me, nearly knocking me over. "And what do you think this reason is?" His voice didn't sound too pleasant at all.

I shrugged his hand away from me in sudden anger. "Chill out!" I yelled. "My God, you're gonna crush me before you _guard_ me. And I don't know! I was just saying it to say it!" I spun around to face him, my face feeling red. "The way you're so uptight about it is making me believe there _is_ another reason!"

"There's _not_," He growled, standing up and walking out of the large medical hangar. He was walking kind of fast.

Oh, so it's gonna be like that? "Bull_shit_! You're an awesome guardian!" I said sarcastically. "Just gonna walk away from me?" I yelled, and when he refused to even look back at me, I ran after him. "Hey where do you think you're going!"

Some of the people on base had stopped to look at us, Ironhide being one of them. Barricade suddenly stopped, spun around and glared down at me. "There's not another reason!"

"BS!" I yelled and he looked at me with a confused stare. "You could've become Nate's guardian!"

He looked disgusted. "Frag no. That glitch is lucky he's even still alive. Next time he decides to get smart with me I will _not_ spare him, count on _that._"

"Can you at least activate your holoform so I can feel like we're on the same level here?" I whined. I hated feeling so small! With a groan, he transformed into the mustang and the driver side door opened, Barricade's holoform stepping out. "Come here, now," I pointed to the ground in front of me. He, surprisingly, stood there, and I grabbed his face. He tried to back away, but my hand had a firm grip. "Now, tell me the other reason." It wasn't easy hiding something from me. Even if you're a massive alien robot.

He rolled his eyes and managed to get away from my grasp. "Give it a rest, kid."

I half glared, half raised my eyebrow. "Excuse me? Kid?" I mock laughed. "I am _not_ a kid. I'm twenty five!"

"..months old," He grumbled.

I was offended! "_Years,_ you fatuous... ass_hole_!" My fists were clenched tightly to my sides. So, he went from nice to dickhead in six seconds? How freakin' rude!

He seemed confused about what I'd called him, but shrugged it off. "Look, I may be with the Autobots now, but I'm still a Decepticon at spark. Deal with it." Decepticon at _what?_ All these new terms confused the hell out of me.

I shook my head, "I don't care. That has nothing to do with what I'm asking you. What's the other reason!"

He placed his hands on his head, obviously agitated. When he looked at me, his eyes looked extremely redder than usual. Walking up to me, he grabbed my shoulders rather rightly.. a little too tight for comfort, and glared at me. "There is _no_ other reason, you impudent human!"

Suddenly Barricade was being jerked back from me and I shifted my eyes to see Nate, looking beyond pissed off. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?"

At first Barricade looked like he was about to charge at Nate, but then he calmed himself down, but didn't hesitate to give Nate a death glare. "Watch your hands, boy. Or else you'll find yourself squeezed in _mine._"

"Don't threaten him," I said, stepping up. Even though Nate was acting like a douche bag lately, he was still my best friend, oh yea.. and my half brother, and I wasn't going to let somebody pick on him. It was so weird thinking about Nate and how he was my half brother. I shuddered for a second, then I got serious again. "Or else I'll disown you." I smirked. I never thought I'd be able to say that and be truthful.

He looked confused. "Dis..own me?" With a roll of his eyes, he grumbled something about the low IQ of the human race before stalking off in his Mustang form, his holoform disappearing.

"Yea, douche! Drive away!" I yelled with a laugh.

Nate looked over at me. He seemed to stare at me for a long while before talking. "I owe you an apology, Corrie." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "I was a jerk and I'm a little embarrassed by how I acted."

I sighed. This was going to be good. "Barricade is my new guardian. I'm trying my best to give him a chance. So far, he's proven himself that he's with the Autobots."

He nodded, "I know," He closed his eyes. "But I'm still cautious. He said he's still a Decepticon at.. uh, what was it? Spark? Anyway, you heard it." He opened his eyes and grinned at me. "But, I trust _you_, so I guess I'll be a little less of an ass."

I chuckled and looked away from him. Sighing, I stared at the trail of gravel dust that was still floating in the air from Barricade's last exit. "That's all I want to hear." I looked back at him. "I need your trust more than anybody's right now."

He seemed to understand. "I know, and I promise to never give you a reason not to trust me, as long as you do the same." Nate's eyebrows furrowed as he waited for my response.

I smiled. "Deal."

* * *

I was glad that Nate was beginning to understand where I was coming from. Barricade is just trying to be a part of us now, and I'm trying to make him feel.. homely. Nate even tried talking to him, but Barricade was too cautious and denied the conversation, claiming he had 'business' to attend to.

Nate sighed, sitting next to me in a small office-lookin' room. "I don't trust him at all, but I at least want to be on his good side.."

I laughed, "What good side?" Then I chuckled. "I'm just kidding. But, I have to trust him with my life.. well, I mean, since he _is_ the guardian of my life."

Nate frowned. "I still don't think it's a good idea that you let _him_ be your 'guardian', or whatever. I mean, you couldn't have chosen somebody else?"

I sighed. I hated it when he continued to argue with me on something. He never won! "He chose _me_. I didn't choose him. I just accepted the offer."

Nate sighed, clearly getting tired of the arguing. "I know. Hey, look," I looked up at him as he continued. "I'll try my best to be... more _tolerable_ towards him, as long as you promise to stay out of trouble?"

I looked away. How can I stay out of trouble when there are giant alien robots in our life now, and their enemies are coming for me and Nate? As much as the question didn't make sense, I knew he was just saying that to make himself feel better. I nodded with a smile. "Alright, I promise."

He reached over and hugged me. I was expecting it to be awkward, but it felt like a brotherly hug, and I accepted it. Nate was starting to feel like a brother to me now and not somebody who I have had a crush on. "Good," He said, pulling away.

"Femme!" A loud voice scared me, but I looked over to who it was. Barricade. "Come here."

Oh boy, this should be _fabulous._

I stood up, telling Nate I'd be right back, and headed over for Barricade. "What's up?" I asked, standing next to the Mustang.

"I think it's time we left this base," He said, and my eyebrow raised in total confusion.

I folded my arms. "What do you mean?" Leave the base? With or without the other Autobots? With or without Nate? I wished he'd hurry and answer me.

There was a mechanical sigh. "The Decepticons know you are here. It's pointless to stay and keep you in more danger. I suggest we go to the United States of America to hide."

"In Pittsburgh?" I asked, hoping I'd be able to go home.

"I'm.. not sure if they knew where you lived. Perhaps we should go further from your home. Preferably New York. Somewhere close, but not too close." I could tell he was trying so hard to keep me protected, and I loved the feeling. Wait, did I just say I loved the feeling?

Anyway, shaking _that_ off, I shook my head and said, "Okay, but I'd need a place to stay and right now I don't have the money to afford a new home."

"You'd be living with me. Inside my alternate mode, I mean." Alternate mode? So _that's_ what they called the car forms. Live inside him? I wish these freakin' Cybertronians would make sense for once! Or clarify what the hell they're trying to say! I don't speak _dumb_.

"Sounds uncomfortable," I mumbled.

He heard me. "I can transform my seats into the best form of a bed I can create, but I highly suggest you do as I tell you, or else there's a chance you will die. I'm not used to being a guardian and having to care for another.. especially a human.. but you have to bear with me here, girl." Bear with _him_? I think he has to bear with _me_. I'm the one totally unfamiliar with his species and he doesn't have _my_ leaders coming after him.

My arms remained tightly folded to my chest. There was still one more question I had to ask him. I knew he wouldn't be too happy about it, but not only did I want _myself_ to survive, but I wanted somebody else to have the opportunity to live as well. (Not that Sam, Mikaela or the others humans and Autobots didn't count.)

"What about Nate?"

He grumbled. "I saw _that_ coming."

"Well it's only fair," I told him. "Considering they're more after him than me."

"Which is exactly why he should stay. His presence around you only puts you in more danger." I couldn't believe my ears. He thought Nate put me in more harm than good? Well it made sense, seeing that he hated Nate, but Nate was my best friend and my family. "Besides, the Autobots will guard him."

As reassuring as he was trying to make it sound, it really wasn't.

"Either he comes with us, or I stay here," I said. I knew it'd make him angry, but those were the rules. I wasn't going to let him boss me around just because I was a billion feet shorter than he was.

Barricade seemed like he was about to yell some sort of profanity and then somebody else butted in the conversation. "Go without me, Corrie."

I spun around to Nate. "What?" I was confused. Did he just say to go without him? Why! I'm not gonna leave him here with these things after us both!

"Barricade has a point. The Decepticons don't care about you. They want me for some bizarre reason, and I'm just putting you in more danger." He walked up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Go with Barricade, and I'll keep in touch."

I raised my eyebrow, "Uh, you're frickin' crazy. I'm not leaving you here. Barricade said we can go in hiding. You can come with us and be safe!"

"There's no guarantee we will be safe," Barricade argued back. "And even if we were, it's too much of a hassle keeping an eye on two humans, let alone _one_."

I wanted to argue and argue endlessly, but I knew they'd only keep winning. I didn't want to leave Nate behind, but I was starting to see their point, and that maybe it was a good idea. I always told myself Nate was a tough guy, and that was the truth.

So why should I lie to myself?

"Fine," I nodded. "I'll.. I'll go with you." I looked at Barricade. "Alone."

Nate finally won an argument! Who woulda guessed?

* * *

**I know there's still a lot of explaining to do in the future, and don't worry, hopefully everything will unfold soon. :P**


	11. Chapter 11

I wanna thank all my reviewers! I'll write personal thank yous in the next chapter, because I'm too impatient and wanna post this ASAP! But thank you all SO much

* * *

Barricade wasted no time. After that, he had immediately gone to Optimus and asked for his permission to leave the base. Optimus, as usual, was hesitant, but seeing since Ironhide and the other Autobots didn't want Barricade there, (and I also think Optimus didn't fully trust him that much on base) and with my constant pleading, he finally let us go.

After all this time of not even having the thought to _look_ at a clock, I lost track of time totally. By the time we were back in the US, it was about three in the afternoon. I didn't even realize how tired I actually was.

"Are you awake girl?" That voice wasn't Nate's. It was Barricade's. I had almost forgotten Nate wasn't with us. I worried about his safety.

Anyway, Barricade's voice was surprisingly soft and didn't sound like an air horn for once. I was stirred from my light sleep, and I opened my eyes fully, allowing the sun to enter them. "Yea, why? Did we find a place to stop?" I had so many new questions. "Can we go to my place? I could really use a shower or something."

"We're staying at a hotel," He replied.

I bolted forward, "What? Where the hell did you get the money?"

"I didn't get any _money_," He replied. "We're staying in the parking lot."

I growled. "Oh, you are _cruel_. You're gonna force me to stay just outside, in the cold, dark parking lot, in front of some nice and cozy looking rooms?" I could understand that he spent the last hundreds or maybe even thousands of years being a Decepticon, but he did not have to be so cruel! I pouted, folding my arms and pressing them against my chest tightly.

He seemed to ignore what I was saying, despite the fact he was looking right at me. "Are you alright?" His question surprised me. Even though I knew he was on our side now, it still shocked me to hear him attempt to comfort me or care even the slightest for my feelings.

I nodded with a shrug. "I guess I'm okay. So much shit in my life right now, I honestly don't know what to feel." It was true. I had gone through so much in such a short amount of time. I was all tired out, mentally and physically.

"I want to apologize.." Damn Barricade. You just keep on surprising me every minute I'm with you. Anyway, he continued. "I shouldn't have told you about your half brother so soon. I just wanted you to trust me."

I shrugged it off. "It's no big deal. "I wasn't lying. It really wasn't. "I mean, if you wouldn't have sooner, we probably wouldn't be here. So, don't worry about it. Besides, I've known I had a half brother out there somewhere for years, so it's not like it was so soon at all." Barricade wasn't bad at all. He was actually really cool.

Barricade's holoform appeared in the seat next to me, and I jumped slightly. It was going to take some getting used to. "Do you trust me?"

His question kinda confused me. Did I not show I trusted him enough? Or maybe he was just trying to feel reassured. So I nodded, "I could trust you with my life right now, actually."

He did something I thought I wouldn't see him do, at least, not in a nice way. He smiled at me. "Good, because I trust you now. I owe you for sticking up for me earlier." He paused and looked away. He seemed a little embarrassed to be thanking me. A human girl. "I've always hated humans. Never liked a single one, but I wasn't always like that. Megatron and his other followers rotted my brain. They told me humans were nothing but pests and they didn't deserve to live. He had me believing every single word he told me. He said we'd get all the energon in the world. I saw you, and hated you. He ordered me to take you both hostage so he could do whatever he was thinking of doing at that time to you or Nate." He looked around for a second. "When we were on the ship, you seemed to push aside the fact that I was on the bad side and you treated me like I was good. You said that you'd help introduce me to the others and I immediately remembered what I had originally believed in; that humans aren't bad at all and they aren't pests. They're a young and sometimes naive race, but they aren't bad." He looked back over at me, and my heart skipped a beat. I wasn't too sure why, but I was feeling funny. "You helped guide me back to what I once was."

Everything Barricade said was so touching. He was definitely a totally different person.. err.. mech.. in my eyes now. He was actually sweet.

I waved it off with a grin, "Don't worry about it. It was nothing, really. I just live by the rule of 'get to know first, judge later'. I kinda made that up, by the way, so that's why it sounds kinda lame." I chuckled.

He shook his head. "It makes sense. I wish I could've been more like that. Instead I was processorwashed.. well, I mean, brainwashed."

I couldn't help but laugh. Processorwashed? Oh boy, these guys just got funnier and funnier. "You gotta teach me your slang words so I can fit in better. Like, what the hell is slag? Aft? Frag? I'm assuming processor is your brain."

"Processor can be anything. For example: an audio processor is obviously our hearing. Our vocal processors are our voices. Things like that." He seemed pretty willing to teach me. I was glad he was beginning to warm up to me. It seemed like it was just yesterday that he was mean to me.. oh wait. Pretty close to it.

Anyway, I smiled at him. "Oh, okay, well, you can teach me later. What do we do now?" I asked, looking around out the window. The sun was pretty bright, and it made me less tired. I was fully awake now, but I knew that if I closed my eyes, I'd likely fall back asleep.

His holoform shrugged. "We stay away from danger until Prime or the others make contact with me and tell me it's safe to bring you back."

"What if it's years from now?" I asked. What? Wars went on for years, so maybe they'd never be able to capture Megatron and Starscream for years. It was a possibility.

He didn't seem to convinced it would be years, but he shrugged. "I'll guard you no matter what. Being a guardian isn't just for a temporary amount of time. It's forever. Unless, you don't want to be guarded, then I won't do it."

I smiled at this. I don't know why, but it made me feel funny inside when he said that. It made me feel wanted and protected. It almost reminded me of how I felt about Nate before I found out he was my brother... Wait a second! Please tell me I'm not telling myself that I actually might _like_ Barricade? And not just as friends.. I'm talkin' _like _like.

"So," I cleared my throat, trying to think of something to talk about. Maybe I'd come up with a potential conversation starter. I was usually good at that, but for some reason, I couldn't think of what to say. "Uh, how is it exactly possible for Nate's dad to have been.. re-producing with his mother? She was a Cybertronian, so I don't get how that would work."

"If I explained it to you in detail, you would probably never look at me the same again," He grinned with a chuckle. "But, I'll try my best not to.. disgust you. You see, it _is_ possible for Cybertronians to mate with humans. The process can be fatal, though, not just to the human, but to the Cybertronian because the male's.. sperm cells.. can actually interfere with the femmes.. parts, or cables. Think about a live wire touching water. If you're standing in that water, you're likely to get shocked, and it could be strong enough to kill a person. Imagine the shock a Cybertronian would give off. Laren had such a lust for a family, she didn't care what she did to herself, or her human." He paused, clearly trying to think of what else to say, so I kept my mouth shut. "Of course, Nate's father never _knew_ she was a Cybertronian, at least I don't think."

When he seemed to be finished, I nodded. "Oh well, I mean, I guess it makes sense now." Even though it really didn't... "Is she still alive?" That was the big question I wanted to ask. "I just don't get why she'd walk out on Nate and his dad when she wanted a family for so long. She finally had one and she let go."

Unfortunately, Barricade shrugged. "She was likely scared. She might be still alive, but who knows. I haven't seen her since.. well.. I haven't seen her since before she had human children." He paused. "We were good friends."

"Why do I get the feeling you should look much older than your holoform appears?" I laughed with a raised eyebrow, my arms folded. I didn't purposely try to change the subject, but I had to ask before I forgot.

He shrugged. "Who knows how old I'd be in human years. There's no calculation for it like you humans can tell how old a dog is in human years."

I shook my head with a grin. "Well, I'd imagine you'd be slightly older, but then again, looks can be deceiving."

"Have you ever been in a long relationship?" He asked, and I could tell he felt a bit awkward asking. I'm sure it was because Cybertronian's don't likely use the word 'relationship'.

I laughed at his question. Ohhh, sooo many memories came flooding back. "I was married once." So many awful memories.

He seemed slightly taken aback. "You were _married_? Bonded?" He made a 'hmm' noise. "I've never seen your mate."

I rolled my eyes as my mind raced back to the past. I wasn't too thrilled about talking about it, but I felt like I could tell Barricade anything for some strange reason. "That's because I'm not married. I mean, my maiden name is Ackley, as you already know, but I kept Chambliss just because I got tired of my last name. No real reason to it. I got a divorce because my ex husband got some new job, when we were married, and cheated on me with some stupid whore. It's nothing really, now. He was kind of an asshole to begin with. He was eighteen when we met, and then by the time he turned around nineteen, we were already getting married. We got divorced shortly after."

"Then I suppose you did the right thing to leave him. When a Cybertronian is bonded, we are bonded for life and respect one another greatly," He paused. "Well, I wouldn't know, considering I've never been bonded, but those are the rules. Respect one another, never have affairs and always, _always_ fight for each other. As evil as we may seem, those rules apply to Decepticons as well."

I was surprised. Cybertronians were so.. awesome. I mean, at first I thought they were awesome with their huge, strong looks, then their knowledge, and now I think they're great because they know how to respect one another when it comes to being in a relationship.

"I wish humans could be more like that." I sighed. "We're so.. stupid. We do stupid things and say stupid things. Nate and I have been best friends for a while now, and I really, really, started to like him. He knew how to respect women, and he was just an awesome person to hang around with. When I found out he was my half brother, I just nearly died. I felt like the one person who ever made me happy and cared for me, could never actually _be_ with me."

He looked away. "I'm sure you'll find.. somebody."

I squinted my eyes in confusion for a split second, then softened them. Barricade was acting kinda weird, but I didn't wanna question it in case it was nothing.. but something told me there was something up with him.

I only shrugged. "I wish, but," I sighed. "I dunno."

"You're tougher than you look. Tougher than you think, too." He began. I looked up at him, my ears and mind listening intently on what he was saying. "When I was assigned to follow you, I learned a lot about humans. You and Nathan had a great sense of humor towards one another. It was as if you knew you were related, but you didn't. I looked at other human women and they were all the same. Stuck-up, full of themselves, too shy, too outgoing, attractive, not attractive enough, but I saw you and I heard you and I understood your personality, and everything about you was almost flawless." I squinted my eyes. Flawless? I wouldn't exactly say that.. "You may think it's not true, but the things that happen to you in your life isn't what gives you flaws. It's how you handle it. How you think about it. You handled your life with a lot of care. You are attending a good college for good purposes and you have an attitude that nobody would want to mess with, yet you are as gentle and kind as a little girl, but you're as mature as a woman. Sure you may have some smart or cocky remarks, but it's a good thing to be fun at times." He laughed. "Believe me, I feel like an idiot saying all of this, but, it feels.. nice to be able to share my true feelings with somebody, instead of having to pretend I'm so evil and hector everybody just to stay with the Decepticons."

I admit. I was _pretty_ speechless! Not to mention very, very appreciative. Barricade was being so honest with me, I really didn't know what to say. "Thank you," I said, but I wanted to say so much more. So I tried my best. "Thank you so much for saying all of that. I mean, I would've _never_ believed all of that about me, but after listening to what you had to say, I can honestly agree. I really do appreciate it. I'm also glad that I got to know you. You've turned out to be a good guardian and an even better friend."

"I'm just trying my best to get used to being.. sociable and approachable." He smiled weakly at me. I could tell he was embarrassed. He wasn't used to saying stuff like that, which made me believe it even more.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "You're doing a great job, 'Cade."

He smiled back at me. Barricade was truly a great Cybertronian and I was glad he was with the Autobots, because he made one _hell_ of a wonderful Autobot.

And I'm sure as hell proud to say he's my guardian!

I had just one more question though. "What _did_ Megatron want with me and Nate?"

* * *

Cliffhanger!

OMG sorry for taking SOOO long to write! So much school work! D: Anyway, Barricade and Corrie got their chit-chat in, and they seem to be getting closer. :P Woo! There will be more and better Barricade/Corrie alone-chit-chat time. ;)

Thanks for being patient!


	12. Chapter 12

**Kbanes2- Thank you! Your story is getting better as well! And if you keep on reading, you'll find out soon. :)**

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**supergirlprime- Mmm.. he's hiding something but not so much a family tie. ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing, though!**

**Woo! All done! Thanks guys! If I missed anybody, I apologize! I try to get everyone. :) Anyway, ON with the story!**

* * *

Barricade was hesitant on answering. I wasn't too sure if it was because he didn't fully know, or he just wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell me. Either way, it was taking him some time to respond. I was about to tell him never mind, that I didn't need to know, but he finally looked up at me, and I waited until he spoke a couple seconds after that. "It's so complicated. There were multiple things he wanted, but it was mainly focused on Nathan. You see, even thought Nathan doesn't appear to have Cybertronian traits, he does have them. Think about how.. brown eyes in a human is more dominant than blue eyes. Well, Cybertronian isn't as dominant as a human trait. If that makes sense. The chances of Nate being a full human was about seventy percent, while turning Cybertronian was only thirty percent. You are fully human, but it's true that you have.. I'd say about five percent Cybertronian in you." There was a sigh from Barricade, and then he continued. "Megatron didn't care about five percent. He wanted Nathan, because Nathan's _mind_ knew so many secrets. Laren used to keep a stash of Energon somewhere out in the Universe. She wouldn't tell anybody where it was hidden. She kept it a secret so if she ever had kids, she would let them have it. She had kids, and passed down, like a trait, the location of the hidden Energon. Think of it as like a map inside Nathan's mind that he never knew about. Unfortunately, Nathan was too young for her to explain to him what was inside his head, so she fled her family without saying a single word. I imagine she would know he'd eventually figure it out, but who knows?"

"Huh.." I said, kinda surprised, but my facial expression was just a raised eyebrow. A look of curiosity. "So, if it's inside Nate's mind, how do they expect him to know how to read it? He doesn't know how to speak Cybertronian, and I'm sure he has no idea that there's a map to some massive energon source stashed away in his brain like some ancient trunk." I scratched my head and leaned forward slightly. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable just sitting in a car all day. "I mean, what're they gonna do? Cut his head open?" I laughed, but when I saw Barricade's serious facial expression, I stopped immediately. "You're kiddin' me?"

He shook his head. "The coordinates are inside his mind. Etched into his brain, literally. If they cut open his skull, they could read where the location is on his brain. It sounds pretty disturbing, and believe me, it is, but they're willing to go as far as possible to find this Energon source. Imagine a world without oxygen. Energon is their oxygen," He sighed and closed his eyes. Then, after taking another deep breath, he looked back up at me. And it wasn't just a look. It was one of those looks that make you swallow hard and pray they don't say something that could potentially make you feel like your world is coming to an end. "and they're running out."

I swallowed hard. So they must have been _really _desperate for this stuff. This made me even more worried for Nate's safety. "We should've brought Nate with us."

Barricade shook his head. "No. He would have put you in more danger."

I stared up at him, my eyes were beginning to water slightly and I felt a stinging in my nose. "He's my best _friend_. My _brother_. I can't just leave him behind!" One tear dropped, and that triggered the others to follow its lead. "I don't think you understand. I _love_ him! Running away isn't going to help him. The Autobots may be able to protect him temporarily, but he needs to be on the move. He can't just stay on the base for the rest of his life until the Decepticons are finally caught!"

Barricade didn't seem too phased about what I was saying. He sighed and looked out the window. "I'm not going to put you in more danger."

My anger finally rose. I clenched my fists as tight as possible and glared daggers at him. As much as I appreciated his help, he wasn't being fair! "Well I care about Nate!"

"And I care about _you!_"

My eyes widened slightly and my fists relaxed. "What?" I wasn't too sure if I'd heard him right. Did he just say he cared about me?

He finally did look at me, and it was then that I could see the determination in his eyes. The determination of a pure and dedicated guardian. "I said I _care _about you." He closed his eyes and turned his head, opening them to look back out the window. "Stop acting dumb, Corrie." His eyes met mine. "Can't you see I'm trying my best to protect you? You're thinking too much about all of this. Rescuing Nathan and keeping him away from the Decepticons is easier said than _done._ He's better off with the Autobots than with me and you. My job is to protect you, not him, and I know that seems like a pile of slag, and you may hate me for it, but deal with it."

I leaned back in the chair, placing my hand on my forehead. Barricade told me he cared about me, said we couldn't help Nate, and.. he told me to deal with it. That was a LOT to take in for me. I scratched at my arm lightly. "Okay," was all I could think of to say. He was upsetting me right now, and I wasn't sure I even wanted to continue talking to him.

He seemed to sense my sudden upset attitude and he placed a hand on my shoulder. It was the first time, if I can remember, that he touched me with care and not brute force. His hand was shockingly smooth, but then again, it could be just because it wasn't exactly a _real_ hand. It was holographic...ish. Either way, it was comforting. "I'm sorry, Corrie."

I shrugged. "It's whatever now." I leaned my head back against the seat and looked out my window. I could feel his hand lift itself from my shoulder and he sighed. "Have you ever liked somebody, Barricade?"

My question seemed to shock him. "As in?"

I shrugged. I didn't wanna make the question awkward. "I mean.. like somebody. As in, you'd do anything for them. You know? Like.. a femme more specifically, or however you pronounce that word. Have you ever liked, or maybe loved a femme?"

He scratched at his head for a second before slowly nodding. "I've liked a femme before."

My eyes widened slightly. Okay, I was _not_ expecting that answer, but, hey, it was a yes or no question, so he coulda said anything. I nodded. "Is it a secret, or can I know who it was?" His eyes darted around for a second, and I knew he didn't really wanna talk about it. "Hey, you don't have to tell me. Forget about it." I laughed.

He grinned. "I don't wanna mention any names, but I can tell you about her if you want?"

I shrugged. "Go for it."

"First of all, you should know that she's very, very humorous. She's one of the few femmes who could actually put a smile on my face. She makes me feel comfortable, or at least _tries _to make me feel comfortable, during awkward situations." He seemed to be smiling to himself and it made me smile. I could see it in his eyes that he really cared for this chick. "She's very outgoing, too." He sighed. "I dunno, I'm awful at describing.. personalities."

"I wish I could be more like she was," I said with a laugh.

Barricade's eyebrow raised. "What?" He sounded really shocked for some reason.

I looked over at him with a confused look on my face. "What do you mean 'what'?"

He laughed. "No reason. It's just.. I thought you'd know yourself a little better than that."

I laughed, but then.. I stopped. Wait, what did he say? He thought I'd know myself a little better than that? What was he trying to say? My head snapped in his direction. "What was her name?" I asked, trying to get it out of him. There was _no_ way the girl he was talking about was-

"I can't say," He smirked and looked out the window.

Grinning, I lunged over and grabbed at him. "What was her name?" I laughed, my hands still gripping his shirt. "Tell me!" When he didn't even say a word, I grabbed at his face and twisted it to face mine. "What was her name, 'Cade? What _is_ her name?"

"If you already know, why must you ask?" He asked, his brown eyes staring into my own.

"Confirmation!" I yelled with a laugh. Then, I figured I'd might as well just say it.. there was no way he was going to first. "She's me, isn't she?"

He smiled. He didn't speak, just smiled. I was right! "She's you," he finally said. Was it me, or was his face slowly getting closer to mine? Time seemed to freeze and I could hardly believe what was about to happen next. I could only stare down at him as his lips neared mine. Just an inch more to go.. my eyes slammed shut.

Time literally seemed to freeze and his lips still hadn't connected with mine. I was about to just push my head forward and do it myself, but I didn't. What happened next happened all too fast.

There was a sonic boom.

I gasped from shock and sudden pain as Barricade's alternate mode literally rolled on its sides across the parking lot. His holoform disappeared and I could hear him grunt with every time his alternate mode hit the hard concrete ground.

Finally, the police car stopped rolling and I was barely conscious. I could see and feel the blood drip from my face. I didn't even have my seatbelt on, and I'd somehow ended up in the driver's side of the car.

"Corrie? Corrie are you okay?" Barricade's panicked voice echoed throughout the interior of the vehicle.

"I.. don't know," I managed to gasp out. My head hurt.

I could feel his alternate mode begin to transform as Barricade yelled for me to stay strong and hold on. I wasn't too sure what happened after that. The last thing I remember was looking into Barricade's massive red eyes, and behind his head, high in the sky, I saw Starscream nose diving.

Then it all went black.

* * *

**(I'd just like to announce that I have started a new story. It's called 'This is Madness'. If you've read my Demonator story, the new story I have up is part two of Demonator! The full summary is inside the story itself, so please take some time to take a look! Thank you!)**

**Guess what? TWO CLIFFHANGERS IN A ROW! Don't kill me people! ;)**

**And they were soooo close to kissing, weren't they? :P**


	13. Chapter 13

I got this idea after reading **Lunar Mist's** review on chapter 12. :) So thank you, **Lunar Mist**!

And thank you to all my other reviewers!

Also to **Standout4Christ**- I can see your point. Yea, I agree, I think Cybertronian would be more dominant, but to make the story work, I had to do it the other way. (And a little imagination never hurt. ;) haha )Plus, Transformers aren't real, obviously, so who knows? haha. :P Thank you for pointing that out though!

* * *

My eyes opened, but everything was blurry. My head hurt and some of my other body parts ached too. Did I trip and fall? Did I accidentally walk into something? I didn't even remember what happened.

Where was Nate?

Suddenly my vision cleared and my eyes widened. What was this place? It was some large, dark, cold room. It felt really damp in here and I could hear some random pipes dripping water. It looked like some massive warehouse.

I slowly stood up, making sure I didn't make myself dizzy. The room spun for a few seconds and I placed my hand on my head. "Gross," I said as I pulled my hand away, looking at the blood that covered part of it. I definitely had a concussion of some sort, but what did I do that made it look that bad?

I finally stood up and looked around the room again. Now that I was up higher, I got a better view, and when I turned my head towards the rear of the warehouse, I saw something massive just sitting there. Although it looked like some huge robot thing, I couldn't help but think it looked almost.. familiar.

It was huge, black and chained to the ground, but these chains were _huge_. Each link was about the size of me. Somebody didn't want this thing going anywhere. I tried to walk closer to the massive thing, but something heavy jerked my leg back. I looked down to find out that my ankle was chained to the ground as well. These links were about a finger-length, though. They were still heavy.

"Corrie?" My head snapped up and I almost fell down from the loudness of the voice. The thing that was chained to the ground was looking at me. It's read eyes were staring right into mine.

"Um," I managed to say. "Hello?"

The thing leaned forward slightly and I took a step back, my chains rattling in protest. "Corrie? It's me, Barricade." Barricade? Why did that name sound so familiar? "Are you listening to me, Corrie?"

"Yea, but," I paused. "I don't think I know you."

Barricade's eyes widened and he leaned back. "No," He whispered. Then he jerked forward again, his chains screaming with every move. "Corrie, listen to me. You hit your head when Starscream attacked us in the parking lot by the hotel." Parking lot by the hotel? That was familiar too, but I didn't remember it much. "Don't listen to a thing Starscream and Megatron tell you, do you understand me?"

I was about to open my mouth and reply, but somebody else did for me. "Silence you naive piece of junk metal."

I turned my head to see not one, but two giant robots staring at us. One was shaped like a triangle and I had to try my best not to laugh despite how close to death I probably was. The other one just had 'badass' written all over him. Barricade struggled in his chains. "Let the girl go, Megatron!"

Megatron, the badass one, smirked down at me. "She's a tough one isn't she? And she doesn't seem to remember you at all or what happened." He grinned at Barricade. "What a shame, isn't it?"

"If you do so much as _look_ at her the wrong way, I'll-"

The triangle-shaped one lunged for Barricade, grabbing him by the neck. Megatron took a massive step forward, getting closer to Barricade. "What will you do, Barricade?" When Barricade said nothing, Megatron chuckled and stood up straighter. "I want to know how much you told them, Barricade. How much did you tell the humans about their family? Or should I just dig around through your internal memories myself?"

"Do what you want to me," Barricade said. "Just don't touch her."

This Barricade was really overprotective of me. I hardly even knew him, for crying out loud! I didn't even trust any of them. "I don't know any of you," I said.

Barricade looked hurt, but for some reason it made me feel guilty. I had no idea why. I shook it off. "Starscream," Megatron said. "Take the girl to the back room. I have business to attend to." He smirked down at Barricade.

Starscream activated some sort of a holographic human being and unchained me, carrying me to a back room, putting me inside and shutting the door, locking it behind him. Thankfully, there was a window nearby, but there were a bunch of heavy boxes and whatnot stashed in front of it. There was a small opening though, and I quickly ran over and peered out.

I could hear almost perfectly because the door and walls were thin, not to mention their voices were louder. I saw Megatron kick Barricade down further, so his back was completely against the floor. Then some little weird looking thing crawled over towards his face, squeaked some foreign language to the two bigger robots and began using some sort of tools on Barricade's head.

I don't know why, but I could feel my heart beat slightly faster as Barricade's eye lights dimmed and then they were completely out. A long, white, bright light appeared in front of his face. It was like a projector.

I covered my mouth with a gasp at what I saw. It was me and some slightly older looking man. We were sitting in a car and he was smiling at me. I was smiling back. My eyes were glued to this projection.

_"What was her name?" _I saw myself, and heard myself, asking.

_"I can't say," _It had to have been Barricade, because his voice was the same.

I reached over for him. _"What was her name?" _I was laughing._"Tell me!" _I grabbed at his face in the projection. _"What was her name, 'Cade? What _is_ her name?" _'Cade? I must've been familiar to Barricade then. Maybe I really did just lose some memory?

_"If you already know, why must you ask?"_

_"Confirmation!" _I was laughing, but then I stopped and smiled at him, I guess. _"She's me, isn't she?"_

_"She's you,"_ His face was getting closer to mine. Were we about to kiss? I apparently didn't even seem to care. I was leaning into it.

The projection suddenly stopped and Megatron glared daggers at Barricade. Barricade's eyes were bright again and he was moving. "Falling for a human? How pathetic!" Megatron's voice was much louder. "Where's the boy?" Megatron got closer to Barricade.

My heart racing, i knew I had to do something. Even though I hardly remembered Barricade, I knew he had to have been important to me at some point. There was something about him that was so familiar, I couldn't just let them torture him.

Spinning around, I examined the entire room I was in. There had to be something in here I could use as a weapon or whatever. I began to quickly dig around in some boxes. A black box was seen in the corner of my eye, and for some reason it called to me. I ran over to it and opened it. Bingo. Inside, a large black shotgun-looking thing and six bullets. It didn't seem like it was going to do anything, but it would be good to defend myself somewhat. Better than nothing.

I didn't know much about shotguns, but I'd shot one and loaded it once at a firing range. After examining it for a second or two, I managed to get some of the bullets in. Stuffing the rest in my pocket, I went over to the door. It was locked, so it looked like my only way of opening it was shooting it.

Aiming the gun and taking a step back, I aligned it up as good as I could get and fired. A gaping hole remained where the lock hole once was, and the door swung open slightly. Wasting no time, I swung it open and stepped outside.

"Okay, so which one of you lug nuts wants a piece of this?" I smirked, pushing back the fore-end of the gun to get another bullet ready. If they wanted me, they weren't going to kill me. They would've already done that.

Both Megatron and Acute-triangle.. I mean Starscream, looked at me. Megatron's metal face twisted into a grin. "Very nice, but you're weapon isn't strong enough to stop us." He stood up straight and took a step towards me.

I aimed the gun at the lower part of his abdomen. "Unless I know where to shoot," My smirk remained. I dunno why, but something told me to aim there. "I suggest you just stay where you are, wise guy."

Megatron stopped dead in his tracks. He looked terrified for a split second, but then his face curled into a smile and then he began to laugh. I fidgeted around slightly, clearly confused. What was so funny? Finally, Megatron stopped laughing and he just glared at me. "Stupid girl! I'm the most powerful Decepticon in the universe!" Raising his hand, I could feel the gun being pulled out of my own. It was as if his hand was some sort of magnetic field and it was trying to take the gun from me.

I lost my grip and the gun flew out of my hand and landed in his palm. He squeezed his fingers shut, crushing the gun. Then, I saw his other hand transform into some giant cannon looking thing and he aimed right down at Barricade.

And shot.

Barricade cried out in agony and I gasped from surprise, falling to my knees as the warehouse shook. When it was over, everything was silent.

"Starscream," Megatron said coolly, transforming his cannon back into his hand. "toss that body in the back of the warehouse."

Starscream bowed his head. "Yes, Lord Megatron."

I watched as Starscream viciously dragged Barricade, who was motionless, across the ground. I could feel my tears falling now. That Barricade tried to protect me. He tried his best and now he was gone.

Megatron, glaring, walked closer to me. "It's your half brother I want, not you. I'm sick of you getting in the way, femme." He stopped and transformed that hand into a cannon again. "That's why I'm taking you out. Go be with your pathetic _pet_ Barricade."

He aimed the cannon at me and my instinct was to close my eyes.

The cannon fired...

Except it wasn't Megatron's.

The glass windows along the side of the warehouse exploded as shards of glass flew everywhere. Dust and other debris clouded the atmosphere and I heard Megatron growl something, but it didn't sound English.

I looked over to the smashed windows and saw two figures pouring inside the building. One was black and yellow and the other, a silver one, was slightly smaller. They both had bright blue eyes and they were firing at Megatron and Starscream, who had rushed back when he heard the loud noise.

"Gotta get the girl," I heard the black and yellow one say, except I could tell it wasn't his real voice. Unless he sang when he talked and sounded like Jesse McCartney.

When he said that, the silver one locked eyes with me, and then ran towards me. The next thing I knew, I was being swept up in the air and being carried away outside of the warehouse.

* * *

Sooo the only person she remembers is Nate. :P She's having some difficulties with the others. ;)

Hopefully this chapter didn't suck.. Thanks again for the reviews guys! I can't emphasize my appreciation enough!


	14. The End

When the silver robot thing grabbed at me, I kinda freaked out. I was terrified of heights, and he was running at least forty miles an hour. Like, seriously! Slow down! Or I'll throw up, and trust me, I will. "Ugh, put me down," I said, my stomach already starting to feel sick.

"Corrie," He stopped running and placed me down, staring at me. "How come Barricade wasn't with you? Did he leave you behind? That stupid glitch.."

"No- no!" I yelled, defending Barricade. "I mean, I dunno. I got knocked out when I was with him I guess, and I woke up in that warehouse. I think Megatron and Star-douche or whatever you wanna call him captured us." I stopped and blinked, turning my head back in the direction of the warehouse. "Megatron shot Barricade. I dunno if he's okay.." I stood up, and turned around to face him. "What's your name again?"

He looked confused. "Sideswipe? We met before, Corrie. Remember, back on the island?"

Suddenly I remembered. "Yea, I remember now!" I shook my head, with a chuckle. "Sorry, Barricade said I hit my head and lost some memory. I'm getting it back slowly I guess." I got serious. "But look, we have to go back. I can't just leave Barricade there."

Sideswipe shook his head. "No can do. Bumblebee called in the others for help. I'm supposed to keep you away from the danger, not bring you back to it."

I walked up to him. "Listen to me," I said, glaring into his eyes. "I'm going back to get Barricade. If you wanna stop me," I paused. "Shoot me."

"You listen to me," Sideswipe growled and his sudden temper shocked me. "I don't care if you're a femme. I'm the Autobot. I'm the big guns here, capiche? It's my job to rescue you. You're going back to safety with me." He took a step closer to me and pointed behind him. "You will go that way with me. I'm not gonna be the one to get you killed, you understand?" Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, and I looked behind me to see the warehouse's walls collapse in a massive fire. "We have to get out of here now!" He transformed and forced me inside his car mode.

The only thing I could think of was Barricade. As my memories all flooded back, I began to cry. He was my guardian. He did his best to protect me, but his best wasn't enough. Now he was most likely dead. Stuffed away in the back of the crumbling warehouse like trash. Why did I have to have the worst luck ever?

I buried my face into Sideswipe's seat as he sped off, the tears never stopping.

Did I actually love him?

No, that was impossible.

Was it?

I groaned to myself, burying my face deeper into his seats and closing my eyes. I just wanted him back, but he was probably dead back at the warehouse. I wanted to kill Megatron with my bare hands. Stupid prick! I could feel the tears still forming in my eyes.

I suddenly felt very tired, and sure enough, I fell asleep.

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"How is she?"

"Not good. Her head is severely injured. Major concussion. I'm surprised she didn't die from the force that was applied to her head."

"You think she's only alive because of Barricade? Maybe he helped save her or something."

"Ha. I doubt that."

My eyes fluttered open, and everything was blurry. When my eyes finally cleared, all I could see was this bright light in my face. I was laying down on some table and there were two guys standing next to me. One looked around my age, maybe less, and he had dark blonde hair, blue eyes and tanned skin. The other one was older, had glasses and shared the same blue eyes.

"She's awake," I recognized Sideswipe's voice. So _that's_ what he looked like. He was cute.

I assumed the other one was Ratchet, considering all the medical talk he was doing and the fact that I was laying in what I remembered as the medical bay. He didn't look too happy about my concussion. "How are you feeling, Corrie?" I shrugged, trying to sit up, but he placed a hand on my shoulder, preventing me from moving any more. "Perhaps you should just stay down. You've been through enough moving around and whatnot as it is."

I groaned slightly. "I feel like I'm going to throw up if that damn light doesn't get off of me."

Ratchet huffed out an annoyed sigh and shoved the light away. "Better? Look, you're very hurt. I ran scans and different tests on you and you have a major concussion. Does your head hurt?"

I shot him a look. "I have a concussion. I feel _peachy_." I dunno what my deal was, but I guess I just wasn't in the mood to deal with anybody right now. I looked away from their direction and focused on the wall. My ears were ringing now, too. What else could go wrong with me? Suddenly, I felt something rise in my stomach.. and all I did next was lean over to the side.. and throw up. Oh, so that's what could go wrong with me..

"Gross, man," I could hear Sideswipe say.

I looked over at them. Ratchet glared at Sideswipe. "Get out."

Sideswipe laughed. "Have fun cleanin' that one, bro." He headed for the door, but continued to talk. "My smell processors are picking _that_ one up- OW!" There was a loud clank and I couldn't help but crack a smile and then laugh to myself when I saw the wrench fly across the medical bay and hit him in the back of the head. "Aft hole-" Another wrench flew. "Ow! Alright, I'm leaving! Primus.." He was gone.

"Half-witted glitch," Ratchet mumbled. Then he turned to me. "Don't worry about that. It's one of the symptoms of a concussion."

I nodded. "Thanks. Sorry, though. I would've asked for a garbage can or something before I hacked my guts out."

He grinned. "It's an easy clean up. Don't worry." Then he sighed. "Do you remember anything from before the accident?"

I nodded. "I do now," I looked up at the ceiling, trying to get the picture in my head. "I remember.." My thoughts went to the kiss that I was about to share with Barricade and I quickly shook it off. "Actually, I don't remember much except Starscream crashing into us."

He didn't seem to believe me at first, but then he smiled to himself. "I see," Suddenly his holoform disappeared and I saw his massive robot form thing come out of nowhere. He was looking at some papers. I honestly didn't know how he could read them. He was huge compared to them. "You're symptoms should last no longer than a few weeks. After that, I still suggest you take it easy. You've been through a frag ton of stress lately."

"A few weeks?" I groaned. "Am I really gonna have to stay in here for a few weeks?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. I'll eventually give you the permission to walk around outside, but no running, joking around or anything else that will strain yourself." He looked over at me. "The last thing I need is for it to get worse. I'm a busy mech."

I rolled my eyes. "Yea, yea. But hey," He looked back up at me for the second time. "did you hear any news on Barricade?" Ratchet's eyes dropped slightly. I could just tell from the look in his eyes the new he was going to tell me couldn't possibly be satisfying. I sighed. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

There was a sigh. "I actually have no heard news about him. I may be the medical officer, but I don't usually hear about that kind of stuff unless I'm to do an operation or anything like that."

I nodded slightly. "Okay."

"If it makes you feel any better," He said. "Optimus reported no Autobot death, and seeing since Barricade officially transferred to an Autobot, I'd imagine he's okay." Then as an afterthought he added, "Not that I'm trying to raise your hopes too high."

It really didn't make me feel any better. I wouldn't doubt for a second that Optimus had no trust whatsoever for Barricade, and that he still considered him a Decepticon. I sighed and looked away. "Alright." I looked back over at him. "Can I at least go outside today?"

"It's not recommended," He said, raising his tone slightly.

I groaned. "Look, doc, I've had a stressful day. I watched my guardian get shot in the spark right in front of me. I really, really, need to just get some fresh air." I squirmed slightly. "I can't stay in a room that smells like chloroform, either, if that makes my point slightly more valid. It's not helping my bulging head ache."

He chuckled slightly to himself, covering his face in his massive hands. "Oh, dear." He sighed and looked back up at me. "Alright. Go on. Just take it easy please."

Smiling, I nodded and slowly sat up, making sure I please him so he didn't think I was rushing. Even though I desperately wanted out. Ratchet was nice company an' all, but I just couldn't stand the dentist-office-like smell that floated all around it. "Thanks, Ratch'."

"I expect you back here in at least a couple of hours." He added before I walked out of the door.

As soon as I stepped outside, I was rewarded with fresh sunlight and fresh air. The only thing that ruined it was the fact that Barricade wasn't next to me. I really did miss him a lot. I just wanted to curl up in the warm sunlight and cry my eyes out, but that wouldn't solve anything.

Seriously, why did Decepticons have to be such assholes? It's not like that run the goddam Universe. I wanted to punch a wall or something, but, that wouldn't solve a thing, either.

"Corrie?" Someone's familiar voice sounded more than excited. "Is that you?"

I turned around. I knew exactly who it was, and it was the only person who could make me smile and actually feel happy in this situation. He was Nate. He looked a bit different. I wasn't sure what it was, but I couldn't help as I ran to him. I know Ratchet would disapprove, but I had to. "Nate!" I yelled, literally throwing myself in his arms.

"I heard news that you were on base, but I couldn't find you," He said. "Somebody told me you were in the med bay and I was just on my way."

I buried my face in his shoulder. "I was so scared." I began to cry. God damn it! I pulled away and wiped my eyes off. "Barricade.. we were attacked. I don't think he made it."

Nate placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure he's out there somewhere, and I'm sure he's fine."

I shook my head, more tears sliding down my face. "I dunno, Nate. I just want him back. He wasn't bad at all. He was good. He really was."

"I know," Nate said, his voice soft. "I know he was, and I'm sorry for giving you a hard time about him. It wasn't my place to say."

I shook it off. "Don't worry about it. I'd do the same thing for somebody I cared about, too." He smiled down at me. I looked up at his smile, but there was something about it. Something playful and jokingly. I raised an eyebrow. Was he.. _smirking_ at me? "What's with the look?" I asked, wiping at my eyes.

When his gaze went from me, to right behind me, I immediately became confused, but for some reason my heart was racing. Was there something funny behind me? Turning around, I scanned the area behind me..

and froze.

Either I was seeing things, or this was all some huge, weird dream. My head began to spin slightly and my heart could've jumped right out of my chest if it wanted to.

Standing there, arms folded, and _smirking_ at me, was, yes, you guessed it. Barricade.

I'm sure if Ratchet saw me, he'd definitely kill me. I didn't care though. I _ran_. I _booked_ it for Barricade. My smile couldn't have been wider and honestly, I didn't care if I looked like a tiny eight year old running to the game booths at an amusement park.

As soon as I got to him, my arms flung around him and he returned the gesture. "I was so worried about you!" I nearly yelled. Actually, I did yell. "I missed you so much."

He chuckled. "I _am_ your guardian, am I not?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. The moment was just too much! I pulled away from him and just stared into those beautiful maroon eyes. He bent down low enough to where I could lean my forehead against his. My arms were around his shoulders and I was smiling. "I'm so damn glad you're my guardian, 'Cade. I'd rather have you than anybody else."

He smiled back. "I'm honored." Then he smirked again. "Shall I finish what we began?"

I gave off a giggle. I will never giggle again. I sounded pretty weird, but the moment was still perfect. I nodded. "Please and thank you."

I could feel his hands gently come in contact with the back of my head. Not too much pressure was added that would bother my concussion, but just enough to guide me to where he wanted me to go. I shut my eyes, and this time things seemed to go at a normal pace for once. Even though his lips were holographic, they felt more real than ever. They were soft, but controlling. I could've gotten lost in it if I wanted to.

So this is what it's like to actually kiss somebody who'd do anything for you. Somebody who'd guard you with their life for as long as they live.

This was definitely something I was looking forward to for the rest of my life. I had everything I could ever imagine. New alien friends, a brother who I could actually call my best friend, the best guardian and lover ever, and most importantly..

He came with a brand new mustang with a bad ass slogan! And not only that, I could use my scratch-removal pen on him whenever I wanted now!

One thing was for sure..

Life was awesome and I couldn't have been more thankful.

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_**THE LAST CHAPTEERRRRRRR! :)**_

_**I honestly hope it didn't suck... I felt like this one did..**_

**Either way, that's all for this story, folks! OMGOODNESS! Almost 100 reviews! That's the best I've ever gotten! I honestly want to thank EVERY reviewer right now. Personally. So here goes!**

**Teddy-wabbitz- Thank you for the review! Yes, Barricade was having a bad day, but he's all good now. ;)**

**Ellmar- Even though it was criticism, I can respect that and I still thank you for the review.**

**kRiSsKrOsSfOrEvEr- Ahhh! You've been one of my best reviewers! And no worries. :) I understand that you can't always be here to read it and review, but I do appreciate that you told me! You're awesome! Thank you for the support!**

**Kbanes2- You've been a really loyal reviewer, and I appreciate you for that! Also, I look forward to reading more on your story! Thanks again!**

**The Silent Hunter- Thanks so much for your reviews! I'm glad you could be there supporting this story. :D It makes my day knowing I have so many fantastic readers! So thanks again for being a part of that!**

**kaaayyytteee- Thank you for your review! I'm glad you took the time to read this story! I appreciate it greatly. :)**

**Ardikani4- Hhahaha yes, Amnesia is a bitch! Thankfully she got over it. ;) It wasn't a bad case though. ;P Anyway, thank you so much for your review! I love you! xDD haha**

**Aerith The Evenstar- Damn Starscream! Always ruining things! Gah! I'll kill 'em! Haha! Thanks for being one of my many fabulous reviewers! I'm glad you took the time to read this! :D**

**XxSwordserxX- Lmao, I know right? I don't listen to Jesse McCartney much, but I figured I'd use the song. :P And yes, Amnesia does ruin a lot. lol Thanks for the reivew! It means a ton!**

**Autobotally45- He's all good! Thank you for all your reviews! You and the others are all so supportive and awesome! I wish I could give you all hugs! xDD**

**Lunar Mist- Ratchet's a goon! He's too proud to treat a Decepticon. ;P Hahaha just kidding! Thank you soooo much for your reviews and you AMAZING idea! :DDD**

**Sideswipe12- Thank you a lot! Glad you were there reading and reviewing! Makes me smile! :)**

**Ironhide and Lennox- Thank you! It makes my day knowing I have a ton of sweet reviewers and readers! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and that you took time to read! :D**

**bee-roxs98- Hahaha burn from the cliffhanger! ;D haah jk, don't do that! I don't wanna lose a kick ass reviewer! ;P Thank you so much!**

**Standout4Christ- Thank you! I'm glad you took the time to read my story and that you gave it a chance. :) I'm sure it's not as good as most stories on here, but every reader I get, I am thankful for! So thanks!**

**autobot kalliope- 'Cade is a cutie, ain't he? ;)) hahah Thank you so much! I appreciate your review! Thanks for being a part of this story!**

**AutobotSyds643- Thanks for your review in this story! I must've said this a ton of times, but I'm so thankful! Forreal! :D**

**supergirlprime- Thanks for all of your support! You're totally awesome! :D Glad you liked it!**

**GracefulWolvesInTheNight- I'm thinking about making an epilogue. Maybe it'll be a bit higher rated, but not too high. ;)) hhaha then they can **_**really**_** be alone. ;P Lmao! Thank you for all of your reviews! You're freakin' sweet!**

**Ryle Culler- Thanks! I'm glad you love it! Thank you for your review! You're awesome!**

**Haller's Demon- I'm glad you think it's awesome! Guess WHAT? I think YOU'RE awesome, too! :DD hahah Thanks for the reviews!**

**Silverfire's Shadow- Haha your reviews got a good chuckle or two outta me. :P Barricade's a hard ass for shooting himself, but he did it for them.. or.. preferably Corrie. ;) I'm glad you liked my character. :) I tried to make her seem believable, rather than a Mary-Sue. I'm honored you reviewed with positive feedback. :) Thanks!**

**Bul-Kathos- Thank you! I appreciate that you were a reader of mine and you liked it! :D**

**Uncertain-Angel- I am EVIL! hahaha. :DD But thank you! I love your review for chapter 7. Made me laugh! :DD**

**Lambo twins sister sparx- I'm flattered that you think it kept getting better and better! I hope i didn't disappoint you if you're still reading this. :) Thanks for being an awesome reader!**

**Psychoninja7- Hahah the holoform's popping out of nowhere are the best. Thank you for reading and reviewing! :)**

**precious92 or freezeingtime92- Thanks for reviewing! I appreciate it greatly! :)**

**Well! That pretty much covers it! I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anybody at all!**

**I may be making an Epilogue. Tell me what you think! It may be rated slightly higher, but haven't decided yet. :))**


	15. Epilogue

**I decided to make an epilogue because I felt like the last chapter just didn't end it too well. I'm not even entirely sure how this chapter is going to go, but I'm going to try and make it the best chapter ever created for this story. Hahah. xD**

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So, it's been about a month since I'd gotten attacked by Starscream, gotten a concussion, and finally kissed Barricade. What a day that was. Unfortunately, Megatron and Starscream were still out there somewhere, but I think they fled for the mean time now that I'm back on base and heavily guarded as well as Barricade.

Barricade still loves being my guardian apparently. Well, at least that's the hint I get when he barks at Sideswipe, Skids, or Mudflap for messing with me too much. I always laugh. It's such a hysterical sight.

I think that Optimus and Ratchet have finally come around to accepting Barricade into the base and my life. Both of them have had conversation with him and the three have even shared a laugh or two together. Things were fitting so smoothly.

Ironhide, on the other hand, wasn't much nicer. He still refused to talk to Barricade despite the fact that Optimus and Ratchet had already accepted him. I think he just needs to cool his jets. As a matter of fact, right now, I'm sitting in a hangar and every Autobot is inside, along with me, Nate, Sam, Mikaela, Will, and Rob. Sarah and Annabelle were around somewhere, but I think Sarah took her to get something to eat.

Sideswipe was joking around with me as usual. He was such an ass. He was always poking me or doing something to piss me off. It always worked.

"Stop it!" I yelled when he poked me again. "Seriously, do it again and I'll throw your ass in a damn foundry!"

Barricade, who was sitting right behind me on the floor, growled. "Knock it off, Sideswipe." He was my guardian, and he was most definitely over protective.

Sideswipe was laughing loudly, though. He always got a kick out of picking on me. I wished I was bigger so I could give him a knuckle sandwich. I growled and folded my arms. "Not funny at all." I glanced at Ironhide, who was standing up. "Where are you going?"

He looked back down at me. "I'm leaving. There's too much nonsense going on around here."

"Oh, sit down and relax," Will sighed. Will, who had been trying to get the giant Cybertronian to at least give Barricade a chance, had gotten an attitude with his guardian over the past couple of days because of it. It was really sad to see them argue all the time.

Ironhide grunted and continued walking towards the hanger entrance. Seriously, what was his deal? Barricade was loyal for a full month so far. I'm so tired of it all. I stood up. "Get back here, now." I demanded, pointing in front of me.

He stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned to face me. "I don't take orders from you, femme." His tone wasn't light at all. He sounded extremely pissed.

Well, two can play at that game. "Seriously, I don't care. I'm tired of you treating my guardian like absolute _rubbish_. Get over here and talk to him. I'm about _this_ close to just kicking your ass back to Cybertron."

"Girl!" Ironhide bellowed. "You have no right to talk to me in such a manner!"

I took a step closer to him. "Oh, don't _girl_ me! I have _every_ right!" Everybody's head was going back from me, to Ironhide, back to me. This was clearly amusing to them.

"Oh, I'm tempted to just knock you out," He mumbled angrily to himself.

Barricade suddenly stood up at that. Oh great. I didn't want him to get involved.. this wasn't gonna be pretty. "Try it, _Ironhide_."

Ironhide's cannons suddenly began to spin, and I swallowed hard. Not good. Not good at all. Were they really gonna brawl over me? That was weird. "Come here, Decepticon, and I'll try something."

Barricade growled at the name and his cannons began to whir to life as well. I looked over at Optimus. Was he really going to let this happen? I stood up and ran to him. "You aren't gonna say anything about this?"

He shrugged and shook his head. "They'll never learn if I lecture them. They won't kill each other, don't worry about that, but I feel this is what needs to happen in order for them to finally respect one another."

My jaw dropped. He felt they need to beat the shit out of one another to _respect_ one another? Oh, you've gotta be kidding me! "You can't be serious, Prime?" I looked back at the others and sat down. I guess Optimus did have a point when you thought about it.

Barricade was doing some sort of weird trick with his cannons. I guess showing off to Ironhide, who was the weapons specialist and thought he was the best when it came to them. I guess Barricade was purposely trying to piss him off.

Ironhide's cannons began to spin and I could've sworn they looked like they were about to fly off and hit somebody. Finally they stopped spinning and locked into place. He raised his arms and aimed them at Barricade. Slowly, Ironhide began to walk around and Barricade did the same. They looked like they were about to shoot one another if the other made a bad move.

Barricade acted quick and fast. First, he shot down at the ground just in front of Ironhide's feet. Ironhide, who was distracted, stared blankly down at where the massive hole now remained. Second, Barricade acted quick and lunged himself at Ironhide, knocking him over. There was a loud thump and the ground shook as the two colossal figures hit the concrete.

There were grunts coming from the both of them as they hit, slapped and punched each other around. I couldn't help but laugh. This was amusing. Then I frowned. One of them was going to get seriously injured.

"Oh, for the love of-!" All heads, except Barricade's and Ironhide's, turned towards the sound of the voice. Ratchet, who had just walked in stared in disbelief at the brawl going on. "I swear to Primus, if I have to heal even an _inch_ of either of you glitches, there will be hell to pay!"

Both of the fighters seemed to ignore the medical officer's words as they continued to wrestle each other to the ground. "If I have to teach you the hard way that I mean no harm and I'm an Autobot, then so be it!" Barricade managed to grunt between all the punches and wrestling.

"You'll never be one of us!" Ironhide barked back. "I'll kill you _first_."

"Ironhide," Optimus yelled out. "Enough of this madness." I guess he figured Ironhide _would_ kill him. I don't think that was something Optimus wanted to deal with.

"I'm sorry, Prime." Ironhide held Barricade in a lock of some sort. "He's a threat to the entire base." He huffed out an angry growl. "I can smell it."

"Oh, you smell _shit_!" Will yelled out to him. "Cut it out, 'Hide! You're gonna hurt somebody!"

Barricade managed to get out of the lock and shove Ironhide backwards. Now that there was a huge gap between them, Barricade turned his back to the weapons specialist. Barricade gave up the fight. "I'm done fighting with you, old mech."

Ironhide didn't seem to like that. He marched forward, towards Barricade, but something happened along the way and he tripped. At that same time, Annabelle, as tiny as can be, was walking in with a small sandwich in her hands. "Barricade!" I gasped as my hands flew to cover my mouth. Ironhide was falling right towards Annabelle.

Every human and Autobot stood up, including Optimus, clearly terrified for the little one's life. It was all slow motion as Ironhide got closer to Annabelle, who now looked up with a horrified expression. A sudden dark figure zoomed past Ironhide right before he hit the ground.

A small amount of dust had collected and when it cleared, Ironhide slowly began to get up. Looking where Annabelle once stood, I sighed with relief when I saw she wasn't there and hadn't been smashed by the massive Cybertronian.

Ironhide slowly turned around to see Barricade. In the palm of his hand stood Annabelle.

With a sigh, I sat back down, my heart still racing.

"Annie!" Ironhide gasped out as Barricade lowered her back to the ground.

"Fun! Do it again!" She yelled out with a series of small giggles. Okay, I admit. It was cute. She was clapping her tiny hands at Barricade, looking up at him with big, blue eyes.

Will sat back down, his face full of shock. He almost witnessed a tragedy. Then, looking over where his daughter's savior stood, he said, "Thank you, Barricade."

Barricade nodded. "It's my _job_ to protect the human race." He glared at Ironhide with deep red eyes.

Ironhide looked from Barricade, to Annabelle, to Will, then back to Barricade. With a small growl of some sort, he bent down to retrieve the little girl, who giggled with excitement. I guess she liked being in high places. Or she just loved her guardian.

When Ironhide straightened, he was about to turn around and walk away, but instead, he locked eyes with Barricade. The two seemed to stare at one another for a long time. I didn't know if something else was gonna go down that I should be concerned about, so we all just watched.

Still staring at one another, it seemed like hours before Ironhide finally moved a centimeter. With one swift motion, he raised his arm and held out his hand towards Barricade's direction.

Barricade stared down at it for a few seconds. There was a sudden look on his face. A look that said he just realized what was going on. Then, looking back up at Ironhide, he raised his own hand and took Ironhide's.

They were shaking hands. I smiled. I think _that_ was the cutest thing that happened today.

"Well it's about slagging time," Sideswipe grumbled as he stood up. Yea, way to kill the mood dork, I wanted to say, but kept it inside.

I looked back at Optimus, who looked more than pleased. He was smiling and nodding his head slowly. He was satisfied they were finally calling a truce. And so was I.

"Thank you," Ironhide said.

Barricade only nodded his head once.

"Well," Nate said with a sigh as he stood up. "I think I should head to my hangar. Xbox is calling my name." He looked down at me. "Wanna join?"

I shrugged. "I guess I could shoot a thing or two," I said, jokingly. I knew we were gonna play Call of Duty. He was obsessed with it. I reached up and he took my hand, helping me up.

"Captain Lennox!" A man suddenly yelled, one of the soldiers, as he dashed into the Autobot hangar. "Another Transformer just arrived. It's a female, uh, Mercedes -Benz McLaren..or maybe it's Lauren. I don't know. Something like that."

"Who?" Lennox's right eye was squinted shut in confusion. We'd explained everything to him and the Autobots, but I guess he forgot.

"Mc_Laren?_" Nate froze dead in his tracks, and so did I. Did that soldier say McLaren, or did I just happen to mistake it for something else?

My head snapped to Barricade, who looked confused as well, but he was alert. "Laren is here?" He shook his head.

Nate shook his head. "No way," His head seriously wouldn't stand still. I kinda wanted to just hold it in place. "No, there's no way she knows I'm here. I don't even know how she'd _recognize_ me!"

"A Cybertronian's memory is far more greater than a human's," Ironhide, who was still sticking around, told him. I guess it made sense, considering that these were far more technologically advanced organisms we were dealing with here. "The last time she saw you, or your father, would feel like it was just yesterday. Especially if she was living on Earth for the past years."

I placed a hand on Nate's shoulder. "You don't have to go out there. Maybe they can send her away-"

"No," He interrupted me immediately, shaking his head once. "No, I need to talk to her." He turned around and stared me in the eyes. "Do you know how many questions I've kept in my head for the day I finally saw her again? I have so many unanswered questions. So many unanswered things that I need to know. I'm not letting this opportunity pass."

I nodded, understanding. "Okay. Then go out." I swallowed hard slightly. "Do you want me to come with you?"

He smiled. "I'm always gonna need a friend there for me. Of course I want you to come with me."

"She's waiting just outside," The soldier said.

Nodding, Nate began walking towards the outside and I followed shortly behind. My heart was racing. I was about to meet Nate's mother. Nate was about to meet his mother. This was something big. Why was she here, though? Did something bad happen, or was she just trying to catch up? I guess I'd find out.

As the warm sun hit both of our skin, we both scanned the area. At first it didn't seem like much was outside and I thought maybe she'd left, but when a sleek, black car drove into sight, I could see Nate's body tense. The car drove slowly and got closer to us. My heart could've popped out of my chest, but thankfully it didn't. That would've been a mess nobody would want to clean up.

I took a deep breath as the car stopped just a few feet in front of us. All of the windows were tinted, so it was difficult to see who was inside. The door opened and slender legs popped out. It was clear now that this person was definitely female. As she stood up, her face and other features became noticeable.

She looked older, was tall, seemed in good shape and had thick, dirty blonde, semi-wavy hair that hung past the middle of her back.

As she made eye contact with Nate, she smiled, flashing white teeth against pale lips. Leaving her door open, she rushed to Nate and took him in for a hug. I could tell Nate wasn't sure if it was okay or not to hug her back, but his arms slowly enveloped her body.

"Nathan," She whispered. Pulling away, she smiled into his eyes. "Nathan, I'm so glad to see you."

"Where have you been?" Nate asked. Laren frowned at his tone. I mentally whistled to myself. Nate was pissed. I could tell.

She seemed to stutter with her words at first. Finally, she managed to think of something. "I- If I told you, you'd never understand-"

"Try me," Nate said, arms folded. Oh boy, it was getting good.

It was then that I realized she was my mother too. Oh, so your daughter didn't get any hugs? How lame. I folded my arms. "If I were you, I would've thought of an explanation before I stopped by here."

She seemed to look at me for a long while. Then her eyes widened. "Ackley.."

I growled. "It's Corrie. Maybe if you'd stuck around long enough, you would've been there to help _name_ me." Laren's eyes saddened.

"Why did you come here?" Nate asked, taking a step forward, making Laren take a step backwards. He was almost right in her face. "Is there something you wanted to tell me? Or did you just finally pick up the courage to stop by to say 'How-dee-do'?"

Laren looked taken aback. It must've been rough.. having your only two kids gang up on you. I kinda felt bad, but for some reason it didn't take away the pain and suffering that came along with it. The lack of family.

"I came because," She paused. She seemed to clear her throat. "I came because I realized what I did was absolutely wrong. I should have stayed. I should have raised a family. I was scared, so I couldn't find the courage to do what I dreamed of. Just recently, I.. I heard that Megatron was searching for you because of my secret. I joined him, but only until I could find out your location so I could find you."

Nate took a step backwards. "How can you expect me to trust you then?"

She shook her head and looked down. "I don't, but I left him. I fled and came here. I know it all sounds really strange, but you have to believe me when I say that I just wanted to come and tell you that he plans to find you and potentially murder you for what he wants." She glared into his eyes. "And I refuse to let that happen to my son."

"Um, and your daughter?" I shrugged. Just figured I'd throw that in there.

Nate shook his head. "You never cared for me or my dad when you left. Why should I expect you to care now?"

"Because I know I was wrong!" She yelled. "You don't understand-"

"_I_ don't understand?" He laughed bitterly. "I was tracked down by every _fucking_ Decepticon for your God damn secret. I had to go through countless bullshit with my best friend _and_ sister," He pointed at me, "Just to figure out _why_ they wanted me and _what _for." He glared at her. "And through all of this, where were _you_?" When she did not reply, he chuckled and I could almost taste the bitterness. "That's right. You weren't there."

She was speechless, and to be honest, I was too. I'd _never_ heard Nate talk to anybody like that. It almost made me scared. He was beyond pissed and right now, I did not want to be there when he started punching things.

With a shake of his head, Nate began to turn around and head for the hangar. I began to follow.

"They killed your father, Nate."

Time _stopped_.

I spun around and stared at her. Then I snapped my head to Nate's direction. He froze. I placed my hands over my mouth. If what she was saying was true, Nate had just lost the only real family he could ever go to. Slowly turning, he stared into her eyes, but there was something about his look that seemed.. frightened, or upset. Angry maybe.

"What did you say?" He asked. Clearly he hadn't registered her words, or he just didn't want to.

She closed her eyes and looked down. "I tried to go to him." Her eyes met his again. "They had already gotten to him. If I would've known, I would've been there to stop it."

Nate's legs seemed to give in from underneath him, and he collapsed to the ground. I tried to reach out for him, but I couldn't make it in time. I bent down next to him. "Nate, Nate, please look at me."

Laren bent down in front of us. "I know this is the last thing you'd want to hear from me, but I regret _everything_ I've ever done to desert you. I will never be able to forgive myself, but at least I can try and make things right again. I'm not asking you to trust me, but I'm asking you to give me a chance."

I could feel Nate's heavy breathing underneath my hand, which rested on his back. I could tell he was crying and when he looked up to gaze into his mother's eyes, I could see the wet streaks. "I don't hate you," He began, "But I don't like you either." She closed her eyes at this. "I can at least be considerate and give you another chance, though. I don't know if you deserve it or not, but don't make me regret it."

Even though she probably knew it wasn't the best thing to hear, she still smiled, knowing it was a chance. "Thank you, Nathan."

Without another reply, Nate stood up, turned around, and walked back into the hangar. With one last look at Nate's mother.. and I guess you could say _my _mother, too, I turned around and followed him back inside.

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**I'm thinking of making a sequel. I'd like to dig further into the lives of Corrie and Nate. There likely will be little to no romance between Barricade. I felt that this story was centered around that, so there'll be no need for it in the future.**

**But, we'll see what happens. ;) Tell me what you think.**


	16. AUTHORS NOTE

**_Attention_! The first chapter to the sequel is now up! It's called 'Goodbye's the Saddest Word'**

**Go ahead my lovely readers! :) Sorry it took so long! The summary sucks ass, but hopefully the actual story wont. xD I plan to do a lot with it!**


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